Chapter 817: The Path to Self-Destruction

"Win-win cooperation."

Li Xuewu shook hands with the other party with a smile, then handed the contract in his hand to Ao Yuhua.

Zhu Xiaolin personally sent them downstairs.

Because Liu Yongtao was drunk, Bai Changmin was the same, and Si Litong was swaying as he walked, he had to come out himself.

Seeing the line of cars at the door, Zhu Xiaolin understood the surprise and astonishment Liu Yongtao had when reporting to him in the morning.

Indeed, the Chemical Plant couldn't afford such a fleet—three of the latest Volga models; if he had really purchased them, he would be finished.

The discipline inspection was very serious at this time; if he really engaged in extravagant enjoyment, he would definitely be investigated.

Li Xuewu and the others finally shook hands and thanked Zhu Xiaolin and the others before getting into the cars; the fleet drove out of the Chemical Plant compound at an equal distance.

Ao Yuhua, who was in the same car, glanced at Li Xuewu, unable to hide her admiration and envy.

She was a female comrade and could better appreciate this aura of a superior and unique personality charm, and better feel the natural gap between male and female cadres.

It wasn't to say that men were stronger than women, or that female cadres were naturally less capable than male cadres.

But when facing big scenes, big problems, and big situations, male comrades had more courage than female comrades and could make decisive decisions at critical moments.

Li Xuewu clearly possessed such temperament and ability; she had to admire him just for his drinking capacity at the table.

Not to mention her as a female comrade, even in the whole factory, or among the people she knew, she had never heard of anyone who could drink better than Li Xuewu.

"Deputy Secretary Li, it was originally planned to go to the Leather Factory in the afternoon; what do you think..."

"Hmm, it's okay."

Li Xuewu glanced at Ao Yuhua and smiled: "I'm not drunk; just find a place to drink some hot water and wash my face."

After speaking, he looked back and asked Ao Yuhua: "How are Director Feng and Director Gou?"

"Director Gou looks a bit too drunk, Director Feng is fine."

Ao Yuhua also looked back helplessly and said: "I didn't expect there would be a drinking session at noon."

"That's nothing, it's very normal."

Li Xuewu pinched his eyebrows; he wasn't drunk, just a bit sleepy.

Negotiation was a process that consumed energy and physical strength, especially since he was used to resting at noon; he couldn't help but yawn.

"Why don't we go back to the factory to rest for a while?"

Ao Yuhua looked at Li Xuewu and said: "What about the Leather Factory side..."

"Forget it."

Li Xuewu waved his hand: "Our joint enterprise has already failed twice; if we stand them up again, this cooperation won't be worth talking about."

As he spoke, he signaled to the front and said: "Let's go, go to the Leather Factory; check on Director Gou in a while, and if he's too drunk, arrange for him to go back first."

Seeing Li Xuewu's insistence, Ao Yuhua didn't say anything more, but arranged for the driver to find an opportunity to cut to the front.

Ao Yuhua arranged a teahouse; after everyone got off, they washed their faces and drank a few pots of tea before continuing to the Leather Factory.

Director Gou slept in the car, and after washing his face and drinking tea, he was a bit more spirited.

Seeing that they were about to achieve results, it would be embarrassing to go back now.

So he also gritted his teeth and followed along; as long as he guaranteed he wouldn't fall asleep, he would have successfully completed the task.

The Leather Factory wasn't a hard nut to crack, but it was a unit where cooperation was convenient and direct.

The border produced leather, and the Steel Rolling Plant had raw materials; there was no reason to let go of this money-making opportunity.

Reselling raw materials was impossible; there were many products in the joint enterprise related to leather.

Li Xuewu was going to Guangzhou to talk about cooperation this time, which was to push leather products and textiles out.

It would be best to get samples from Hong Kong, realize production and processing in the mainland, and then sell the finished products to Hong Kong.

It was very simple; the garment industry was a disaster area for replicas—find the popular styles, produce them in large quantities, and just launch a wave of sales.

Especially with the mainland's cheap labor and production capacity, it directly knocked the garment industry down to the mortal world.

Things like LV or Gucci—their authentic products might not even be online yet, but the mainland was already shipping them out.

The quality was better than theirs, the hardware accessories were more excellent, and in the end, verifying authenticity had to be evaluated based on quality.

Of course, it was still too early to talk about this; they had to wait until Hong Kong had a certain level of development before they could open the door to trade.

Ao Yuhua thought it would be another protracted war in the afternoon, but she didn't expect Li Xuewu to change his negotiation style from the Chemical Plant and become swift and decisive.

At the negotiating table, Li Xuewu said bluntly: "A 30/70 split is a hard indicator; the TV factory is like this, and the textile factory is also like this."

"Even the Chemical General Plant, which just finished talking about cooperation and signed the contract this morning, is like this; we treat all brother units equally."

"If the Leather Factory doesn't want to, then the Steel Rolling Plant will change people, and you can just pretend we never came today."

Facing the Leather Factory leader's questioning about the failure of the previous two cooperations, Li Xuewu said very seriously and firmly: "Cooperation requires sincerity, and our visit today is sincerity."

"But cooperation also has needs; the Steel Rolling Plant needs leather technology, and the Leather Factory needs the Steel Rolling Plant's mutual benefit and assistance."

Li Xuewu sat up straight and said: "Cooperation benefits both, separation harms both!"

"If you walk out of this door today, the Steel Rolling Plant can find other leather factories to talk about cooperation, but I don't believe the Leather Factory can find a partner as sincere and capable as the Steel Rolling Plant!"

"I don't believe there is any enterprise in Beijing that can compare with the benefits, courage, and determination the Steel Rolling Plant has brought this time."

The negotiation with the Leather Factory went very quickly, and Li Xuewu's attitude was very firm, so there was nothing to talk about.

Sign!

When the signature was written and the red seal was stamped, it meant the cooperation between the Steel Rolling Plant and the Leather Factory was confirmed.

This was inevitably bullying the small with the big; the Steel Rolling Plant was larger than the Chemical Plant, and even larger than the Leather Factory.

Just as Li Xuewu said, if I don't find you, I can find someone else; can you find someone like me?

After the signing and photos, Li Xuewu's attitude changed very quickly; he was very polite to the other party's head.

At the same time, on behalf of Li Huai De, he invited the other party to show their face tonight; the Steel Rolling Plant had already prepared a banquet to celebrate the success of the cooperation.

Li Xuewu also politely said to the other party that it was his duty, and he hoped they wouldn't take offense; they must drink well tonight, drink until they were satisfied, and drink until they didn't blame him.

The atmosphere became much more relaxed after the signing, especially after the Leather Factory leaders agreed to attend the banquet, and both sides truly entered the cooperation stage.

The people the Steel Rolling Plant arranged to come this time had a firmer attitude and more strength, which also gave the Leather Factory people more confidence.

Everyone was mixing in society; who would care about the attitude at the negotiating table? Cooperation was what mattered.

On the way back to the Steel Rolling Plant, Ao Yuhua was still sitting beside Li Xuewu.

She had two documents in her bag—the cooperation proposals signed in the morning and afternoon respectively.

These were the big problems and hard bones left by Vice Director Jing; she didn't expect Li Xuewu to solve them all in one day.

She was truly convinced, especially this afternoon's negotiation, which could be described as satisfying and thorough.

Li Xuewu was very good at grasping the rhythm of the negotiation; she could feel that Li Xuewu had been suppressing the other party throughout the talk.

The Leather Factory head had a habit of having a bad temper; he had even slammed the table at Vice Director Jing last time.

Vice Director Jing was a female comrade, and the other party dared to do that.

This time Li Xuewu was younger, and the other party wanted to set up a stance from the beginning.

But she really didn't expect Li Xuewu to dare to confront him; if you want to be tough, I'll give you tough.

Li Xuewu's toughness broke the other party's stance, directly piercing through the surface politeness of the cooperation and talking about practical matters, leaving the other party truly unable to handle it.

"There was no plan to go to the Glass Factory this afternoon."

Ao Yuhua was still greedy, wanting to solve all problems in one step; she looked at the time and asked Li Xuewu: "Should we go to the Glass Factory?"

"No."

Li Xuewu waved his hand: "There isn't enough time, and it's not appropriate."

As he spoke, he thought for a moment and said to Ao Yuhua: "Just invite a few leaders from their factory to dinner in Director Li's name; don't say anything else."

The Glass Factory was already cooperating, but the agreement hadn't been signed yet; the other party's intention was very clear, and Li Xuewu could see it.

They wouldn't release the hawk until they saw the rabbit, and they wouldn't let go once they saw the rabbit.

Damn, they wanted all the good things!

He would invite the Leather Factory leaders to dinner tonight, and bring the Glass Factory leaders along; Li Xuewu was going to set up a "Hongmen Banquet" (trap) for them.

"Just at the reception center."

Li Xuewu said to Ao Yuhua: "Ask the master chef to show off his skills; can we count this as a victory today?"

"Yes, anyway, I think it counts!"

Ao Yuhua was forty years old this year and had worked in the Personnel Department before, always looking serious and earnest.

After being transferred to the Factory Office, she gradually adapted to the work content and situation, and had to show a polite and active side.

She was excited today; she had participated in several negotiation processes with Vice Director Jing.

In her view, Vice Director Jing could be described as a representative of gentle and elegant women.

However, such leaders didn't have an advantage at the negotiating table, especially in decision-making and deployment, where they were a bit slow.

Li Xuewu said a lot during the morning negotiation, and his attitude was very gentle.

However, he was neither humble nor arrogant, overcoming hardness with softness—a rare talent.

Now Li Xuewu was at the same rank as her, but Ao Yuhua knew that deputy director might be her end, but it was Li Xuewu's starting point.

She only called Li Xuewu Deputy Secretary Li now, and she believed that as these projects landed, more and more people would call him that.

Because these projects benefited everyone in the factory and brought huge prestige and development potential to the Steel Rolling Plant.

The future belonged to young people like Li Xuewu.

Thinking about this, Ao Yuhua responded, and also asked: "Can you still drink? Do you want to arrange for a few people with good drinking capacity?"

She asked this for a reason; Director Gou and Director Feng in the car behind were both confused—the secretary said they fell asleep as soon as they left the Leather Factory gate.

"It doesn't matter."

Li Xuewu smiled and said: "For the future of the Steel Rolling Plant, I will risk my life to accompany the gentlemen."

"But Director Li has to take the lead tonight!"

"Hahahah~"

Their departure from the Steel Rolling Plant was very stylish, and their return was even more stylish.

Not many people knew in the morning; only those who saw the cars talked about it.

After a day of fermentation, everyone in the factory office knew that the factory had three more Volgas.

They were all asking when the Volgas were bought, who they were for, and if the leaders were changing cars.

After all, only Li Huai De's car was a Volga M24 now, which was considered exceeding the standard.

But the Steel Rolling Plant only had one, so others couldn't say anything if he insisted it was for service.

Now that three more cars appeared, it couldn't help but make people in the factory discuss it.

It wasn't that they wanted to use these three cars, but they wondered if the leaders were changing cars, and if the ones being phased out would be their turn.

When the fleet entered the Steel Rolling Plant compound, the eyes on the office building couldn't help but focus on the fleet approaching the office area.

And when the fleet stopped in front of the main building of the factory office, quite a few people had already come down to watch the excitement.

Of course, they all had documents in their hands, looking like they were just happening to handle business.

Back at the factory, the secretaries wanted to run over to open the doors, but Li Xuewu didn't want this service anymore.

He opened the car door himself and got out, and Ao Yuhua did the same.

And the others in the other cars got out one after another, except for Feng Xingke and Gou Zirong who had fallen asleep.

The two were helped out by the secretaries, standing there with blurred eyes.

Li Xuewu looked at them with amusement, waved his hand at the white-shirted people looking at him, and said: "Everyone worked hard today!"

"Hahahah~!"

The negotiation representatives naturally laughed; today was a victorious day, a day of creating excellent results, and they participated in the negotiation, sharing the honor.

"The leader worked hard!"

"Hahahahah~"

Don't know which kid was playing tricks, saying this, making everyone laugh along.

Li Xuewu looked at Ao Yuhua and also smiled.

Then he pointed to the crowd again and said under the gaze of those watching the excitement: "The battle isn't over yet! Everyone keep confidence and fighting spirit, wait for my news! Let's try to get the Glass Factory to sign tonight!"

"Good! Hahahah~"

"Hahahah~"

Li Xuewu's encouragement and laughter represented the major achievements of this trip, and those watching also saw this point.

The laughter of victory and joy drifted between the office buildings, making passersby look frequently.

Especially these white-shirted people and the fleet parked on the side made them extremely envious.

This was the trump card Li Xuewu prepared to deal with Jing Yunong's traps.

He gave a few instructions to the driver and told them to withdraw first.

Zhang Guoqi stood at the stairwell, looking at the scene outside the lobby, his face gloomy and terrifying.

Especially the gaze looking at Li Xuewu was full of resentment and jealousy.

It's just an outside assignment, what are you showing off for? If I didn't know better, I'd think you'd beaten the Americans!

He hadn't settled the score with Li Xuewu for the arrow in the morning, and now that Li Xuewu was carrying the prestige of a great victory, he dared not show his face even more.

He didn't want to become his stepping stone.

Seeing Li Xuewu and the others heading to the lobby, Zhang Guoqi quickly went upstairs, as if he had never been down.

And when Li Xuewu and Ao Yuhua waited for Feng Xingke and Gou Zirong to wash their faces with cold water and sober up, they went upstairs together.

They went together, so naturally, they had to report together; Li Xuewu wouldn't eat alone, and eat so miserably.

Even if the two were asleep and couldn't be woken up, they had to be carried to Li Huai De's place to show their faces and sacrifice for the factory.

Of course, now that they were sober, they didn't have to go up and make a fool of themselves.

The four of them were chatting and laughing as they went up to the third floor, just in time to meet Zhang Guoqi coming from the office side.

"Yo! How much did you drink!"

Zhang Guoqi asked with feigned surprise, then looked at Li Xuewu with a smile and asked: "Looking at this appearance..."

"Success!"

Without waiting for Li Xuewu to answer, he said happily as if he were the one who went to negotiate: "Just as Director Li said, a victory at the first attempt!"

"And a big victory!"

Ao Yuhua said with a smile: "The Chemical Plant and the Leather Factory were all taken down, and Deputy Secretary Li made a great contribution."

Hearing her say this, Zhang Guoqi's eyes narrowed, then he swept a sharp glance at Ao Yuhua and said: "Hahahah! This is inevitable!"

After speaking, he gestured to the third-floor corridor and said: "Hurry up! The leader is at home, hurry up and report!"

The smile on Ao Yuhua's face stiffened; she clearly felt Zhang Director's strangeness.

What's going on? Isn't Director Zhang on good terms with Deputy Secretary Li!

She knew she seemed to have misunderstood something, or rather, added trouble to herself for no reason.

It was very obvious—she called him Deputy Secretary Li and said he made a great contribution, and Zhang Director's face changed immediately, and the taste of his words changed.

He was jealous!

Li Xuewu was very humble, waved his hand, and said to Ao Yuhua: "Don't say this again; we are one body, don't talk about separating families."

Ao Yuhua was stunned again when she heard this; her eyes moved, and she instantly understood what he meant.

No longer paying attention to Zhang Guoqi, she nodded to Li Xuewu with a smile and said: "You are being modest; I won't give you credit when I get to the leader, don't blame me."

Li Xuewu saw that she understood his meaning, and looking at the smile Zhang Guoqi was maintaining which had already gone out of shape, he laughed secretly in his heart.

Not wanting to look at his smile that was uglier than crying, he signaled in the direction of Li Huai De's office and said to Zhang Guoqi: "We'll report first, talk later."

"Good, good, good."

Zhang Guoqi narrowed his eyes and watched the four people passing by him, his gaze extremely sharp.

Everyone, one by one, didn't give him a good look, which made him feel very aggrieved.

You all just wait for me!

A gentleman takes revenge, ten years is not too late!

Why should they give him a good look!

Gou Zirong was already close to Li Xuewu, and their circle had long found Zhang Guoqi unpleasant.

And Feng Xingke was actively leaning toward this circle; pretending to be confused at this time was the right thing to do.

Ao Yuhua was a deputy director and naturally respected Zhang Guoqi.

But just now, she was stunned; especially Zhang Guoqi's sharp eyes, like a poisonous snake.

This wasn't bullying people; the superior bullying the subordinate—wouldn't that mean he'd make things difficult for her?

It was Li Xuewu's righteous words that gave Ao Yuhua confidence.

Right, so many people didn't Li Kezhang Guoqi; what's one more?

The four of them entered Li Huai De's office and saw Li Huai De had already stood up, looking at the four with a smile.

Li Xuewu walked into the room with a smile and didn't speak, just signaled Ao Yuhua to come forward.

Ao Yuhua was very grateful to Li Xuewu for giving her this opportunity; she took two signed cooperation proposals from her bag and handed them to Li Huai De.

"Two?!"

Li Huai De looked at Li Xuewu and the others in surprise, then opened the two documents and looked at them.

"Hahahah!"

When he laughed out loud, Li Xuewu and the others also laughed along.

With the landing of the cooperation between the two factories, the joint enterprise project would enter a stage of comprehensive development.

In addition to providing the Steel Rolling Plant with a steady stream of high-quality products, it could also increase this year's profit.

He was naturally clear about Jing Yunong's difficulty and playing the rogue, and he also broke into a cold sweat for Li Xuewu when he handed it over to him.

Now seeing Li Xuewu and the others really bring back the cooperation proposals, it meant they had passed the test smoothly.

The key was that it was one day, two proposals, and it wasn't even four o'clock yet.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Li Huai De laughed and said several "good" words, then waved his hand to signal everyone to sit, and at the same time greeted Li Haiyang to make tea—good tea.

Hearing him greet like this, Li Xuewu's heart jumped; the "good tea" here wouldn't be the kind of "good tea" from his own office, right?!

Looking at the overjoyed Li Huai De, Li Xuewu seemed to have a bit of confidence, but when Li Haiyang brought it over, he didn't even drink it.

Better safe than sorry; those who have done bad things are all guilty~

At Li Xuewu's signal, Factory Office Deputy Director Ao Yuhua reported the negotiation situation to Li Huai De.

Although he said not to praise himself alone, Ao Yuhua still highlighted Li Xuewu's contribution during the report.

On this point, Feng Xingke and Gou Zirong had no objections.

The negotiation was presided over by Li Xuewu, and Li Xuewu did indeed play a decisive role during the negotiation process, so Ao Yuhua's report was fine.

After Ao Yuhua finished reporting, she said to Li Huai De: "Leader, Deputy Secretary Li arranged a reception tonight; I'll go notify the reception center."

"Good, good, you worked hard, Comrade Yuhua."

Li Huai De smiled at Ao Yuhua and stood up to shake hands with her, which was why he let her leave first.

After Li Huai De sat down again, Li Xuewu said with a smile: "Deputy Director Ao is a bit exaggerated."

"Although there were slight disputes in the negotiation, the Steel Rolling Plant was united as one, and it was the will and determination shown by the negotiation group that moved the other party."

"Hey! This person!"

Li Huai De pretended to be helpless and dissatisfied, but couldn't help smiling; he reached out and pointed at Li Xuewu, and said to Feng Xingke and Gou Zirong: "In the morning when he left, right here, I told him not to be too humble and cautious!"

"Look at this, I said it for nothing!"

The hand that fell picked up the cigarette case on the table, took out three cigarettes and threw them to Li Xuewu, then threw them to the other two.

Feng Xingke, who received the cigarette, was smiling on the face, but in his heart, his evaluation of Li Xuewu had risen another level.

He had dealt with Li Xuewu many times and admired this young man very much.

Capable, able to seize opportunities—Li Xuewu's performance today didn't surprise him; this was his normal level.

At Li Huai De's place, he refreshed his understanding of Li Xuewu's comprehensive ability again.

How many people could make the factory head "scold" and be "dissatisfied" like this!

Which leader would say that the cadres below were too humble and cautious, would say that the cadres below were too perfectionist, and that they should relax?

Li Xuewu was the number one person in the Steel Rolling Plant, and also the first person he had ever seen.

This wasn't a one-day performance; he had known Li Xuewu was this kind of person since the day he met him.

When he was first transferred back to the Steel Rolling Plant in the Service Department, he had witnessed Li Xuewu's caution and humility.

And after he came to Li Huai De's side, he witnessed Li Xuewu's generous and enthusiastic side.

This person was very worth befriending, at least on the surface.

The three of them lit their cigarettes and started puffing away; Li Huai De sat there watching.

He had quit smoking and would absolutely not smoke.

Since he didn't smoke, the number of people who could smoke in his room could be counted on one hand.

Li Xuewu didn't care about that; he would give Li Huai De some secondhand smoke from time to time—after all, he drank secondhand wine, and cigarettes and wine were inseparable~.

The few of them chatted and laughed for a while, and Li Xuewu focused on the drinking session tonight and his purpose for doing so.

"This is called inviting the king into the urn."

Li Huai De said with a smile: "Fine, let's solve them all tonight."

He now had some boldness; with Li Xuewu covering for him, he naturally didn't fear any drinking session.

He looked at Gou Zirong and the other with a smile and asked: "Can you two still make it tonight?"

This question made the two wave their hands repeatedly; Gou Zirong smiled bitterly and said: "We don't have Deputy Secretary Li's massive capacity; if we drink any more, we'll have to go to the hospital."

"Fine, then call Secretary Yuansong and Factory Director Kaiyuan tonight; the leaders at home should also contribute!"

Li Huai De's eyes narrowed when he said this; Li Xuewu always felt that he had set up a Hongmen Banquet, and he had used this Hongmen Banquet to set up Yang Yuansong and Cheng Kaiyuan.

However, he had to return this sentence; he couldn't let all the credit fall on himself.

"If you want to talk about contribution, your contribution is the greatest."

Li Xuewu looked at the two beside him and said with a smile: "Without you supporting us, we wouldn't have the confidence to charge into battle."

"Hahahahah~"

Li Huai De laughed and pointed at Li Xuewu, scolding: "You, you, you always catch me off guard."

"Hahahah~"

Feng Xingke and Gou Zirong looked at each other and laughed lightly.

The laughter in the room stung Zhang Guoqi's ears outside the door.

This is bullying!

Forgetting the old for the new!

If I hadn't taken the blame for you back then, could you be laughing today?!

If I hadn't charged into battle for you, could you have sat firmly in today's position?!

Li Xuewu only talked about two projects and you're like this!

If all the other projects were landed, would you have to kowtow to Li Xuewu?!

Listening to this on weekdays didn't feel like anything, but comparing the praise for Li Xuewu today with the scolding in the morning, he felt it was particularly harsh and unpleasant!

He was eavesdropping here, feeling resentful in his heart, but forgot to pay attention to the movement in the corridor.

"Director Zhang, hello~"

The new factory office secretary, seeing him standing there, greeted him directly without any sense of propriety.

This kid had a loud voice and wanted to suck up to him, wishing he could greet him right in his ear.

Zhang Guoqi's face changed drastically; first it was white, then red, wishing he could curse this little brat to death.

Glancing at the office door, Zhang Guoqi nodded feignedly.

Not to mention Zhang Guoqi heard it, even the people in the room heard it.

The laughter that was just there stopped abruptly, and Gou Zirong clearly noticed that Li Huai De's face opposite had changed, gloomy and terrifying.

This was naturally not directed at them, but they didn't dare to touch this bad luck.

Looking at Feng Xingke, they both looked away and pretended not to see.

Li Xuewu took the opportunity to say goodbye, saying he had walked all day and had to go back to handle business.

Especially since there was a session tonight, he had to slow down, and he had to risk his life for the Steel Rolling Plant.

Li Huai De looked at him and smiled, saying that if he risked his life, they wouldn't have any life left.

He wasn't good at attacking Zhang Guoqi at this time; in front of the three of them, it was too shameful.

It wasn't that Zhang Guoqi was shameful, but that he was shameful.

Zhang Guoqi was a director he had promoted himself; now that he was making a fool of himself, wasn't it his own shame?

Li Xuewu and the three were very sensible, waving their hands and politely saying there was no need for the leader to send them off.

But Li Huai De still sent them out of the office; one must have a heart of tenderness for those who have made contributions.

Naturally, Zhang Guoqi was gone at the door; even a fool would know the eavesdropping was exposed.

But even a fool would know you couldn't leave at this time!

If you didn't leave, you could still say you were standing at the window opposite smoking, waiting to report work to the leader; if you left, wouldn't that be "there are no three hundred taels of silver buried here" (a confession)?

The three who went out, whether it was Feng Xingke or Gou Zirong, all gave Zhang Guoqi a "stupid" evaluation in their hearts.

It could only be said that jealousy makes people lose their reason and their ability to do things.

It could also be said that it was a path to self-destruction.

"Director, a call came from Steel City at noon."

As soon as Li Xuewu entered the room, Sha Qizhi reported: "Xu Ning said Teacher Han took the train at noon today."

"Oh, is that so?"

Li Xuewu nodded, and while putting down his bag, asked: "Did he say anything else?"

"No."

Sha Qizhi served Li Xuewu the tea he had prepared and explained: "He just said that one sentence."

"Got it."

Li Xuewu sat down and started looking at the documents; he couldn't drag the work on the table to tomorrow.

There was no need to worry about Steel City for now; no news was good news.

Since Teacher Han had taken the train, it proved the problem was solved.

Sha Qizhi moved the documents over and quickly helped Li Xuewu organize them to make it easier for him to read.

The two cooperated very tacitly; the documents on the table had already been screened by Sha Qizhi, and special positions were marked, making it easy to review.

And Li Xuewu would organize the documents he had signed and approved, making it convenient to send them out in a while.

Just as the two were busy, Han Yating knocked on the door and walked in.

"Leader."

"Hmm, come."

Li Xuewu looked up at her, pointed to the chair opposite, and continued to look at the documents.

"What's the matter?"

Li Xuewu asked, but Sha Qizhi put down the documents in his hand, greeted Han Yating with a smile, and hugged the documents the leader had finished reading out of the office.

Han Yating didn't want to avoid him, but the other party's action also facilitated what she was about to say.

"Cough~ I was at the Discipline Inspection side just now."

First she coughed, then said this, but after speaking, she hesitated again.

When Li Xuewu looked up at her, she gathered her courage and continued: "I saw a report letter about... about Secretary Dong at the Discipline Inspection side just now."

"Oh?"

Li Xuewu looked her over, nodded lightly, and lowered his head to continue looking at the documents.

Han Yating was nervous; she hesitated because doing so violated discipline and wasn't something she should do.

But she had seen it, and it was the business of the head of the Security Department, so how could she stay out of it?

After thinking it over, she decided to tell Li Xuewu about this, but she didn't expect Li Xuewu to be so... indifferent?

The reaction was too flat; just an "oh"?

Li Xuewu signed the document, then closed it and put it aside.

He picked up his teacup, looked at Han Yating, and asked: "How are the cases being investigated?"

"Ah?"

Han Yating was still thinking about the leader's reaction just now; she didn't expect him to ask about the cases again.

"They are being investigated; three of them already have progress, but the Discipline Inspection side means secret monitoring, simultaneous closing of the net, and forming a deterrent."

"Hmm."

Li Xuewu took a sip of tea, responded, and then said: "Listen to the unified arrangement of the Discipline Inspection side."

While speaking, he put down the teacup in his hand and urged: "Because this investigation involves many people and has relevance, interrogate more and analyze more."

"Understood."

Han Yating was still struggling with the report letter, but Li Xuewu didn't say a word about it—was he not in a hurry or what?!

As soon as she responded, the phone on Li Xuewu's desk rang, startling her.

Li Xuewu picked up the phone and said: "Hmm."

Unlike others, Li Xuewu didn't say "hello" when answering the phone, nor did he ask who was calling; just a "hmm."

The call was from Xue Zhifu, asking if he had time to have a cup of tea.

When a leader asks you to have tea, there's definitely nothing good; if there were something good, he wouldn't need to talk about it over tea.

But he couldn't say "I'm busy now, no time to go~"

When a leader asks if you are busy, it's just politeness; it means you should come over quickly even if you have busy things to do.

There wouldn't really be a fool who would say they were busy with work, right?

Han Yating heard it was the voice of Secretary Xue from Discipline Inspection and widened her eyes.

Did Discipline Inspection know she made a mistake as soon as she made it?

Li Xuewu put down the phone and looked at Han Yating's expression—it really was the "one pregnancy makes you stupid for three years" (a saying).

Do you really think the people in Discipline Inspection are trash?

Is it such a coincidence that you happened to see that report letter?

Don't be silly; as soon as she opened her mouth, Li Xuewu knew someone from Discipline Inspection had deliberately leaked it.

Reporting Dong Wenxue—good heavens, isn't this a joke.

Heads of units, especially those handling business, offend many people; which one isn't reported a dozen times every year?

Or to put it another way, only those who haven't been reported might have problems.

Or it means you're finished, and people are too lazy to report you because you have no benefits.

"I have to go out; Secretary Xue has something."

"No... leader."

Han Yating stood up and reminded him in a low voice: "That report letter isn't from one person."

"Hmm, I know."

Li Xuewu nodded with a smile, looked Han Yating over again, and asked: "Are you tired? Do you have any thoughts?"

"What?"

Han Yating was stunned; could it be that the leader was angry and blamed her for saying this?

Was he going to transfer her away?

Li Xuewu pointed outside and said: "Hurry, I'm leaving first; you walk slowly, be careful."

After speaking, he walked outside, and when he met Sha Qizhi in the corridor, he urged him to look at the documents on the table when he came back.

When he arrived at Xue Zhifu's place, the leader had really prepared tea.

Li Xuewu asked with a smile: "Did you get good tea again?"

"Hehe, taste it."

Xue Zhifu gestured to the teacup on the table without saying what kind of tea it was.

Li Xuewu walked to the opposite side of the desk, sat down, picked up the teacup, looked at it, and tasted it.

"Hmm~! Longjing!"

This thing was easy to judge; you could tell if it was good or bad with one sip.

Perhaps Xue Zhifu had received some good stuff mailed by a friend again; this tea came often.

Xue Zhifu smiled and pointed to the teacup in Li Xuewu's hand, saying: "Look again."

Li Xuewu looked at the shape of the tea leaves in the cup and laughed: "This is truly rare."

After speaking, he looked at Xue Zhifu and asked: "Is it really special grade?"

Only then was Xue Zhifu satisfied; he nodded slightly and said: "Received it yesterday; take some back in a while."

"How can I be so embarrassed~"

Li Xuewu said with a smile: "It was sent by your friend; how can I keep sponging tea leaves off you?"

After speaking, he put down the teacup in his hand, looked at Xue Zhifu and asked: "Do you like calligraphy and painting? I just got a painting yesterday; I don't understand it much, but if you like it, I'll bring it to you tomorrow."

"Can it trade for my Longjing?"

Xue Zhifu looked at Li Xuewu with a smile, his voice full of suspicion.

"Forget it, you don't think I'm a fool, do you?"

Li Xuewu said with a smile: "Even if I have no eye for it, and don't recognize calligraphy and painting, I should at least recognize people."

After speaking, he introduced: "I once asked that person to help me mount a piece of calligraphy; we agreed on the price, but in the end, he didn't want the money and insisted on a favor from me."

Li Xuewu patted his hand and said speechlessly: "At that time, I went to the border with Director Li, and my family didn't understand, so he really fooled me."

"So, he asked me to do something and sent another landscape painting; I couldn't avoid it, so I had to agree."

"Hehe~"

Xue Zhifu nodded lightly with a smile, knowing that Li Xuewu wouldn't be afraid of him misunderstanding if he told him.

Whether it's public or private business, there's human sentiment involved in such exchanges of calligraphy and painting.

People eat grains and cereals; how can there be no human sentiment?

Even he himself—isn't he also bound by human sentiment? Otherwise, where would the tea leaves come from?

Li Xuewu was very capable; just take the cars that were asked about today—weren't they arranged by Li Xuewu?

If you really investigated carefully, people wouldn't be able to live.

Besides, he didn't believe Li Xuewu would make a mistake, no matter whose mistake it was, because Li Xuewu was smart enough.

Because Li Xuewu was smart enough.

"Although this Longjing of mine sells for 35 a jin in the supply and marketing cooperative, you can't buy it."

Xue Zhifu said with a smile: "If your painting is really worth 35, I'll trade it for tea leaves."

"Hey~ don't do that~"

Li Xuewu said with a smile: "Aren't you setting me up! Can I still make a mistake~?"

"Wang Xuetao's painting is 12 yuan per square foot, Li Keran's is 15, Lu Yanshao's is 8 yuan."

"I can only say... I don't know who painted my painting!"

"Hahahah~"

Xue Zhifu laughed out loud, glanced at Li Xuewu, then lowered his head and took a sip of tea, saying: "If you were like this, our work would really be hard to do."