Chapter 919: Just Afraid of No Good People

"The sky is full of stars~"

"The moon is bright and shiny~"

"The production team holds a big meeting, complaining and seeking justice~"

In the living room, the phonograph with a yellow brass neck was singing the unique main melody of this era.

On the bed covered by a blue-green patterned cotton quilt, there were also people humming along.

The door to the inner room was left ajar, the sounds mixed together, loud and suppressed.

The snowy night in winter didn't feel cold either. The fire in the living room was burning vigorously, the firewood crackling, piled up like two people intertwined, exceptionally hot.

The dining table had just been used, but the messy bowls and dishes hadn't been cleaned up yet.

How hurried it must have been; even the chairs were tilted, which was completely unimaginable in Ran Qiuye's days of living alone.

People in school often said the Ran family lived exquisitely, which was later distorted into being rich and wealthy.

The Ran family lived comfortably after returning to the country, but they definitely hadn't reached the point of living in luxury.

The houses were all allocated, relying entirely on the parents' knowledge and status, as well as this unswerving dedication.

Intellectuals, after all, especially after drifting abroad for many years, were accustomed to more convenient and comfortable living concepts.

A dual-income couple only raised one daughter; in this era, even the lowest-ranking workers had good lives.

Not to mention that both were middle school teachers, with a salary of over a hundred yuan a month, and they didn't value savings and frugality, so they naturally lived freely.

Furniture, electrical appliances, phonographs, etc., as well as the room full of books in the study, clearly reflected where the salaries of the three people went.

Living exquisitely didn't mean being rich and wealthy; it was pursuing a more tasteful, happier, and more comfortable life within the scope of the family's economic affordability.

Even today, after experiencing so much bitterness and torture, Ran Qiuye still loved life.

She knew very well that the humble and cowardly self had already died on the night before her parents were about to leave, when she was hiding in the corner crying.

Having received the grace of the gentleman, one must accept the kindness of the gentleman.

With a salary of thirty-something yuan a month, she spent more than half of it to buy daily necessities to send to her parents on the mountain.

When she was a child, her parents chose to have only her so she wouldn't suffer; today, her parents were in trouble, and she didn't want her parents to be wronged either.

Life on the mountain, although still about teaching and educating people, was inevitably poor.

Her parents were not young anymore. Everything else was fine, but they couldn't let go of the books they had loved for a lifetime.

Every rest day, she would purchase a batch and buy a few books her parents wanted to send to Red Star Village.

When she returned, she brought back her parents' earnest hopes and love for current life, accepting the baptism of the era again.

Even if there was someone to protect her, in school, she was still a special existence.

Gossip, sarcasm, and even dirty words students learned from nowhere would pull her back to reality.

When she was really suppressed to the point of being unable to bear it, or wanted to cry from grievances, she chose to take the initiative.

Ran Qiuye didn't understand before why happiness was always so far away from her.

Now she knew that she was wrong, not knowing how to actively pursue happiness.

If you ask her what happiness is, she will definitely tell you that that person will suddenly appear when she is most weak and helpless.

When happiness knocks on the door, Ran Qiuye will choose to give all her love, enthusiastic and excited.

"Hoo~"

She tidied her sideburns wet with sweat, took a deep breath, and just right, returned from heaven to the human world.

"Sorry, I missed you~"

"Hmm, I know."

Li Xuewu patted her back lightly, flicked his fingers slightly, and shook off a few spots of cigarette ash.

Outside the window, the heavy snow was still falling, and the light on the bedside table was warm, just like the heat pouring in from the living room.

Ran Qiuye greedily smelled the scent on Li Xuewu, but finally sat up with full reluctance and cleaned up the mess.

Happiness should be like a flower, with the expectation of blooming, the enthusiasm of brilliant blooming, and the rationality of returning to the earth and the winter snow in the human world.

Precisely because of the withering and reincarnation time after time, happiness has the beauty of blooming in a flower-like way time after time.

She was mature, knowledgeable, and knew how to give and take. This man's time only allowed her to steal a few hours; she had to cherish it and be content.

Li Xuewu would never belong to her, but she could be exclusively Li Xuewu's.

Love has no party A or party B; there is only "I miss you" and "I am willing."

"Don't bring so many things next time; I can't finish eating them."

Ran Qiuye stood proudly at the head of the bed, tidied her pajamas, and covered Li Xuewu with the quilt.

"The canned food you brought last time is still left over. Counting the ones sent to my parents, I only used a small half."

"Eat more, there's still more."

Li Xuewu lay lazily on the pillow, the muscles on his back slightly bulging between movements, attracting Ran Qiuye's gaze to follow.

Her fingers moved slightly, and seeing him relax again, she smiled and said, "I'm clumsy and don't know how to massage muscles and bones."

"It doesn't matter; I'll massage you when I have time."

Li Xuewu's teasing brought Ran Qiuye's coquettish scolding. She patted him lightly and went to the main room.

When two people are together, if there is no pure money relationship, they must be attracted to each other.

And what attracts the other party is either special charm or irresistible handsomeness.

Coincidentally, Li Xuewu had neither of these two points.

Then how did he capture the hearts of so many women?

The arsonist of hearts has something to say: can't he be forced!

Not active, not refusing, not responsible!

What else do you want me to explain! Good at it?

Lou Xiaoe was willing to spend money, Qin Huairu was willing to lose face, Yu Li was willing to lose her family, Zhang Songying was willing to lose her freedom...

What was Ran Qiuye willing to lose?

I'm afraid it was only this unswerving despair and surrender to life.

Showdown, I'm not playing this rotten life game anymore!

It wasn't that Ran Qiuye didn't have life pursuits; her family upbringing didn't allow her to indulge herself, and even less allowed her to relax her requirements for herself.

Therefore, even finding a partner became a difficult problem.

She used to treat life so seriously and love life, but what did life give her?

Parents exiled, life gloomy.

In the face of suffering, strength is just an excuse for incompetence, an ignoring of the torture suffered by parents, and the lingering sound after life is destroyed.

If one could live well and enjoy happily, why bother looking for trouble?

Shaking the phonograph that had long lost its kinetic energy, flipping the record to the other side, moving the needle, and continuing to sing and dance.

Ran Qiuye tidied Li Xuewu's clothes, cleaned up the bowls and dishes on the dining table, and hummed softly; this was the life she had to have.

It was really ironic; she had become the way she used to disdain and hate.

She had never thought that she would have a day of taking the initiative, facing this man's silent help and pretending not to know.

Ran Qiuye felt that without her visit, would he have never said these things to her for the rest of his life?

Clearly, she could also pretend to be deaf and dumb, learn from him to pretend not to know, and then continue her life.

But her inner pride wouldn't allow her to choose to forget; forgetting this experience was equivalent to giving up this life full of hardships.

She had to remember, remember this bitter life she was currently experiencing, and even more, remember those who imposed suffering on her.

Regarding Li Xuewu, Ran Qiuye didn't feel that the other party was coveting anything from her. Even if it was her looks, an old maid who couldn't get married, why be self-conscious?

Therefore, being with Li Xuewu wasn't repayment, nor was it kindness, but luck.

Luck that she met him at an age when she still dared to strive.

"Let me tell you!"

Li Huai De's voice came out of the phone loudly: "This is exciting good news!"

Li Xuewu moved the receiver slightly away from himself and looked at Gu Weijie opposite him with a bitter smile.

Gu Weijie also looked at him with a full smile, listening to Li Huai De shouting loudly on the phone.

"I want to tell you, Deputy Director Jing and our exhibition team have made great contributions, including you, Comrade Li Xuewu!"

"Director Li, I am Gu Weijie."

The phone in Li Xuewu's hand was taken by Gu Weijie opposite. She looked at Li Xuewu with praise in her eyes, but said in a teasing tone, "Why do you only praise others and not yourself!"

"Hahaha!"

Hearing it was Gu Weijie, Li Huai De's laughter carried excitement and pride: "It's all the hard work and efforts of the comrades; it's the victory of the comrades!"

"It's the victory of our rolling mill!"

Gu Weijie smiled and emphasized, "The battle report of the trade fair has already been received, the results are gratifying, and we can all have a good year this year!"

"Comrade Weijie, it's more than just this year."

Li Huai De's bad habit of drawing big cakes when excited came back, bragging on the phone about how it would be this year, how it would be next year, and how it would be even more so in the future.

Good heavens, Li Xuewu heard it and felt it was so familiar; wasn't this the big... the grand blueprint he drew for Li Huai De!

In others' hands it's called a big cake, but in Li Xuewu's hands, it has to be called a blueprint!

"Congratulations, Comrade Yunong, congratulations, Director Li."

Gu Weijie smiled and said on the phone, "Please also convey my hard work to the comrades fighting on the front line of sales."

"Wishing the exhibition team to successfully complete the trade fair exhibition tasks under Director Li's leadership, and looking forward to your and the comrades' triumphant return!"

After hanging up the phone, the smile on Gu Weijie's face remained thick, and the look in her eyes when she looked at Li Xuewu carried expectation.

"Planning in the tent, deciding victory a thousand miles away; this is the merit of Zifang, merit for thousands of years."

"I don't dare to take this praise from you."

Li Xuewu smiled, spread out his notebook, sat up straight, and reported to Gu Weijie, "I definitely can't calculate things a thousand miles away, but I can see clearly the things right in front of my eyes."

"Director Li is waving flags and shouting in Yangcheng, but I am walking on thin ice and terrified at home."

He glanced at his notebook and continued, "The site selection for the three planned food processing plants has passed the technical review of the engineering department, and next is to ask the leaders to vote for approval."

"But the problem faced is the same as the tertiary industry and the automobile industrial base currently being built: personnel matching."

Li Xuewu said very seriously, "Including management personnel and labor personnel!"

"The existing recruitment and training system of the personnel department cannot keep up with this development rhythm at all."

"Automobile industry can still accommodate the transformation of rolling mill workers, but how to handle food industry and subsequent electronics industry bases?"

"You can't dilute the rolling mill or workers from other factories every time, right?"

"Speak directly."

Gu Weijie had already restrained her joy. The good news she just got from Li Huai De was washed away by the problem Li Xuewu raised.

"It's the personnel department's problem, right? You can put forward any ideas and opinions you have; I can study them here, or we can discuss them at the meeting."

Her tone was very serious. While speaking, she took the phone beside her and asked the deputy group leader in charge of the personnel department, Xie Lan Zhi, to answer.

Xie Lan Zhi was Sister Xie. Her name was similar to the deputy group leader in charge of the service department, Xie Tingzhi, but the two had no kinship.

The call was connected. Gu Weijie asked her to come here with the main cadres of the personnel department; there was a temporary work meeting to be held.

Li Xuewu didn't stop reporting: "There are more than a dozen new and investment projects this year and next year, and the demand for new workers and high-standard workers is also huge."

"The main problem currently faced is that there are no mature or even semi-mature technical workers participating in production and construction."

"Without a perfect training system and internship ability, still relying on traditional 'passing, helping, and leading' to cultivate workers, it cannot meet the sudden growth in technical demand of the projects."

"Without a mature recruitment and elimination system, the workers configured for new projects are mixed, good and bad."

Li Xuewu pointed at the desk seriously and reminded, "Some workers don't even know how to turn on the machines, but they are arranged in trial production positions."

"This is seriously irresponsible to production, and even more a serious violation of production workers. From the perspective of safety that I am in charge of, this is not allowed."

During Li Xuewu's report, Sister Xie led the section chiefs of the First Personnel Office, Second Personnel Office, and First Cadre Office to knock on the door and enter Gu Weijie's office.

Li Xuewu's words didn't stop: "How is this different from grabbing young and strong men to the front line back then and stuffing a fire stick that wouldn't fire into their hands?"

As soon as Sister Xie entered the room, she saw Li Xuewu "reprimanding" Deputy Director Gu. Both of them had serious faces, and the words were even more sharp.

She didn't care much; she knew the relationship between Li Xuewu and Gu Weijie in private was very good, but the three section chiefs behind her were scared to death.

What the hell was the situation? They only heard of factory leaders reprimanding group leaders and deputy group leaders below, but today it was really an eye-opener.

They all said Deputy Director Li had a sour face and a big temper, and would scold people at every turn. They had only heard rumors in the past, but today it was really a long-lived sight.

They didn't dare to say a word, silent as cicadas in winter, following behind Group Leader Xie into the room.

Didn't they see Deputy Director Gu was being "reprimanded"? They were nothing more; at this time, it was best not to touch Deputy Director Li's tiger whiskers.

Gu Weijie also saw them enter the room and waved her hand, signaling them to find a place to sit.

Her secretary had been hiding outside and didn't dare to come in just now. Taking advantage of pouring tea and water for everyone, she handed over the documents that the leader urgently needed to sign.

Gu Weijie explained while looking at the documents: "Just right today, Deputy Director Li just came back from the economic and trade project department investigation. Calling you over is to discuss personnel training work."

She was talking, but it didn't delay her work; she had already signed the documents the secretary needed.

Director Li wasn't home, and the review power of the number one person was temporarily entrusted to her to act on his behalf.

She would sign some daily office documents, and some that weren't very urgent, or were of great importance, would be delayed until Director Li returned this week.

The news Director Li reported from the phone just now was the results of the trade fair that ended last weekend, including the situation of participating in the closing party.

Calculating the itinerary, Director Li would arrive home at most on Wednesday or Thursday, which wouldn't delay much.

Putting aside several documents she wasn't sure about, and ignoring the secretary taking away the documents, she signaled Li Xuewu and said, "Please Deputy Director Li, talk about the problems and opinions just now to everyone again."

A leader talking to you very seriously about work doesn't mean she has an opinion on your "finding fault," or that she is deliberately making things difficult for you.

Generally speaking, a leader who has really reached Gu Weijie's position, when facing problems raised by someone like Li Xuewu, would either clearly tell you it can't be handled for the time being and go back first, or just find a reason to send you away.

The reason is also very simple; it can be discussing and researching at the meeting, or asking you to seek the opinions of other leaders, or discussing at the meeting.

And if she called the department heads related to the problem to the office to hold a temporary office meeting, that means she wants to take your problem seriously.

A leader with real responsibility will absolutely not let you leave him with a problem, even if he gives you an ambiguous answer; otherwise, there will be endless troubles.

Readers who are often leaders know that if a problem isn't answered, he can say anything after walking out the door, and even add his own attitude and answer to his problem.

But if you give an answer, it completely limits his performance. If there is a problem later, he won't dare to confront you.

This is why the higher you go, the more cautious you are in speaking and doing things.

Not only are leaders cautious, but the department heads who are called are also very cautious; their every word and action directly determines the leader's attitude toward this matter.

Facing ordinary people, naturally, they first consider whether they can solve the person who caused the problem, but with Li Xuewu sitting there raising the problem, these people wouldn't dare to think about this.

So everyone in the office was thinking about how to solve the dilemma of personnel problems currently faced by the rolling mill.

"Figure out the movements of the personnel department at the training ground."

Cheng Kaiyuan frowned, threw the newspaper in his hand, and said to Zhou Yong, who was standing in the office, "The movements of the small car class are the most able to reflect the fundamental problems. You must grasp this work well and cannot have any slack."

"Sorry, leader, it was my negligence."

Zhou Yong admitted his mistake very readily and hurriedly made a guarantee to Cheng Kaiyuan.

Cheng Kaiyuan's frown didn't disperse. What he wanted wasn't Zhou Yong's guarantee, but what exactly Li Xuewu was doing.

A few days ago, the personnel of the security group was changing, and it even involved personnel adjustments in all departments of the rolling mill.

Damn, it wasn't even the end of the year yet; why would this situation appear?

He was completely ignorant of this trend now and couldn't grasp the results of personnel changes at all. Some of the previous layouts were all disrupted.

Especially against the security group, Li Xuewu had absolute control in business and management; it was really the kind where a needle couldn't be inserted and water couldn't be splashed.

He just didn't believe it and had to blow a big hole in Li Xuewu's backyard to see what kind of filth was hidden inside.

Security work couldn't be grasped, personnel work had no influence; he only felt his head buzzing.

Last week, the words he argued with Wang Zongli in the car while visiting the leaders above were still echoing in his ears.

Regarding Li Xuewu's ability, he didn't admit it in his mouth, but he was very wary in his heart.

Li Huai De took Li Xuewu to Yangcheng, and he moved around for a while, but the results of his hard work all had problems as soon as they returned.

After all, the foundation was too shallow, and there were too few people to use.

Just one trade project, Li Xuewu helped Li Huai De stabilize the panicked hearts since the start of the Great Learning activity.

The development and progress of the rolling mill were obvious to all. No matter how the wind outside swayed left and right, the determination of the two to engage in the economy remained unmoved.

That's what's scary. The workers of the rolling mill just ate their set; everyone was happy if there was money.

It wasn't that Cheng Kaiyuan hadn't tripped them up. The chaos in the housing distribution ceremony by Gu Weijie was planned by him, and the Japanese businessmen coming to the factory to visit and attend the meeting were also his arrangements.

But what was the result? Every time, the security department stabilized the situation, the personnel department coordinated the problems, and the economic and trade group spent money to settle the people who caused the problems.

I heard that Li Xuewu went crazy in Gu Weijie's office yesterday, called the personnel department to hold an office meeting, and someone called him to be sarcastic, saying this and that.

Cheng Kaiyuan was really a bit annoyed. What he was nervous about was Li Xuewu going to the mountain for investigation, going to the economic and trade group and personnel training department for investigation; he didn't know about this yet.

When he asked back, he found out that the chess piece he arranged had gone out privately to enjoy the snow with a female classmate.

Damn, more than enough to fail, less than enough to succeed!

Cheng Kaiyuan glanced at the blushing Zhou Yong and waved his hand to signal that he could go out.

How could such a person be a secretary for Yang Yuansong, or it was because Yang Yuansong even used such a person that he was defeated in one blow.

This Zhou Yong hadn't made any progress after following the leader for so long. He couldn't even do such a small job well; what else could be expected of him?

Cheng Kaiyuan had great ability and ideas in work, otherwise the Beijing Machinery Second Plant wouldn't have developed so well.

However, the acclimatization that often occurred in cadre transfers was encountered by him. He didn't obey Li Huai De now, and didn't obey Li Xuewu either.

Old Li was gone, but Little Li was still at home. He didn't even dare to make a big move, let alone talk about control.

Wang Zongli advised him to pay attention to Li Xuewu, especially to pay attention to some of Li Xuewu's seemingly irrelevant arrangements.

Cheng Kaiyuan already paid great attention, even more than he paid to Li Huai De, but he still couldn't understand, and couldn't even see what Li Xuewu was doing.

Thinking of this, he got angry and slapped the table hard, making his hand numb.

The secretary poked his head from the doorway and glanced inside. Seeing he was angry, he hurriedly dodged.

This was the comprehensive skill of a secretary from the factory office. Cheng Kaiyuan saw it and just pretended he didn't see it.

This secretary was arranged for him by Xu Sinian back then. He was a newcomer, so it was the same whoever he used.

But it was this kid's slipperiness that made him really want to kick his butt sometimes.

However, I heard that Li Xuewu also chose a secretary from the factory office, but I don't know if the one he chose is the same kind of virtue as his.

Thinking that Li Xuewu was also facing his own problems, he felt much more comfortable in his heart.

However, Li Xuewu's movements with the personnel department still had to be paid attention to. Just as Wang Zongli said, this fierce tiger was good at laying out in subtle places.

The leaders he met last week also mentioned Li Xuewu, saying that this person's mind was extremely delicate, and his way of doing things seemed casual and smooth, but in fact, he was cunning, ruthless, and unusually sinister.

So many people were reminding him, and he himself had experienced it personally, so how could he not be alert?

From the definite news from the security group, Xiao Zihong had been to the training ground on the mountain and had contact with the people in the confidential department.

Although this was within the normal scope of work, it happened to occur during the period when Japanese businessmen came to negotiate, and it was exactly after the action he planned.

When he heard that the security group started personnel changes, his hair stood up.

This reaction speed was really too fast. Judging from the news fed back from there, it was afraid that the other party had bigger and more actions.

Combining the old fox Li Huai De daring to leave the rolling mill at this time, the other party absolutely had a big conspiracy waiting for him.

No one would choose to remain silent after being bitten, especially someone like Li Xuewu who was famous for being vengeful.

The newspaper he just threw had a connection with this matter; it seemed that God was helping them work against him.

On November 16th, "Industrial News" reported: The above instructed Gu and Yu to preside over the industrial and traffic symposium attended by relevant comrades from five ministries, seven cities, and major regions.

The five ministries here refer to: Metallurgy, Water and Electricity, Railways, Chemical Industry, Machinery.

The seven cities refer to: Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Shenyang, Harbin, Wuhan, Guangzhou.

The country's main industrial and traffic forces were concentrated in the hands of these departments and cities.

The rolling mill was located in Beijing and belonged to the metallurgical department, so the problem reported in the news was the first to bear the brunt.

At the symposium, the leaders mainly discussed the problem of the "Great Learning" activity in industrial and traffic enterprises.

The comrades participating in the symposium fully affirmed the achievements of the industrial and traffic front in the past seventeen years in their speeches.

They advocated carrying out the "Great Learning" in stages and batches, opposed comprehensive spreading; did not approve of establishing joint learning organizations among industrial and traffic enterprises and carrying out connections; and required correctly handling the relationship between reform and production.

What is this?

This is a brick, hitting Cheng Kaiyuan right on the forehead.

What does he want to do?

He wanted to open a gap for the rolling mill and let the wind outside blow in.

Only when the wind of Great Learning blows in will the rolling mill's table be reshuffled.

Cheng Kaiyuan didn't care what the wind blowing in would bring to the rolling mill, and didn't care whether it had any impact on the trade economy that was developing at high speed.

Because deep down, he was very disgusted and repelled by these flashy things.

According to his management ideas, the rolling mill should focus on industrial development, put its mind on rolling steel, break through technology, reduce costs and manpower, and clench its fists to overcome difficulties.

Currently, the rolling mill's ranking among steel industrial enterprises in Beijing was very high, but this was caused by the scarcity of the rolling industry and the inevitability of the planned economy.

The words Li Xuewu mentioned at the meeting about the comprehensive development of light and heavy industries, building a diversified industrial production goal, and realizing resource feedback were all nonsense in his view.

Being greedy for size and completeness had been experimented with in the past few years, and the consequences were very serious, dragging down the pace of industrial development for more than ten years, and it was still healing its wounds now.

Cheng Kaiyuan hadn't carefully studied this industrial system construction plan; he didn't oppose the rolling mill's industrial development, but opposed the adventurous behavior of Li Huai De and Li Xuewu.

Cooperating with foreign businessmen was undoubtedly skinning a tiger for its hide; introducing foreign capital forces would inevitably cause irreversible damage to the overall economy.

This idea of his was affirmed by that leader in the industrial department, who especially supported him in regaining control of the rolling mill's rudder.

Therefore, even if the wind and snow were heavy, Cheng Kaiyuan was still planning how to let the rolling mill return to spring and turn the tide.

This rolling mill should also change its sky; if Li Huai De and Li Xuewu were allowed to continue like this, it would really...

"Hey, don't tell me, I think it's pretty good now."

Sha Zhu looked left and right, seeing that everyone on the factory road was sweeping snow and no one was paying attention to them, carefully took out a small dropper from his pocket.

"I missed it so much!"

Yang Fengshan grabbed Sha Zhu's hand, snatched the dropper, twisted off the bottle cap, and poured it into his mouth.

"Hey~ hey~ slow down~ don't choke yourself!"

Sha Zhu was really down-to-earth and lived very purely; whoever was good to him, he was good to whoever.

Although Factory Director Yang had fallen and was still in the stage of being monitored and investigated, he dared to send supplies.

Seeing the Factory Director drinking urgently, he took out a pigeon from his pocket and, taking advantage of no one paying attention, stuffed it directly into Yang Fengshan's pocket.

"Hurry, go to the toilet!"

"Toilet?"

Yang Fengshan touched the paper package that was still warm in his pocket, raised his hand to smell it, and it was actually the smell of meat.

He only managed to ask this one sentence, then looked around, and slipped into the toilet secretly.

"Hehe~"

Sha Zhu looked at the inside of the toilet and chuckled, but felt in his heart that a factory director who had reached this point was really boring.

Unlike him, he was awesome now!

Small squad leader of the cafeteria, managing the big cafeteria, eating whatever he wanted, no one dared to control him.

In the past, Factory Director Yang covered him; now, Director Li and Deputy Director Li cover him at the same time.

He was so smart; he knew how to get along with leaders by observing Li Xuewu's attitude toward Li Huai De.

The factory could change its flag, but in the end, didn't one have to eat?

Changing the factory director was fine, try changing him, the cook!

Don't look at the fact that Master Qian and his apprentices were arranged in the guesthouse; they had rules in this line of work.

In the guesthouse, if he went over, Master Qian would definitely treat him politely, but he would absolutely not act big in front of Master Qian.

It was the same in reverse; if the leader arranged for Master Qian to lead people to the big cafeteria to preside over work, the other party would absolutely not take this job.

Look at the small cafeteria; he and Master Qian took turns on duty, and their relationship was very good. The leaders just liked this bite of theirs.

Not afraid of competition, just afraid of no good people.

Grabbing Director Li's stomach and grabbing Deputy Director Li's family's stomach, his little life couldn't be more carefree.

He had a wife, and it looked like he was about to have a child. Go ask around the cafeteria; who was as awesome as him?

In the past, Director Guo of the cafeteria compared with him, but now look, does he dare?

In the past, they all said how the leaders were; look at this Factory Director Yang, once a man of the hour, what is he like now?

A bottle of wine, a mouthful of meat, could endure going to the toilet to steal food; it can be seen that this cadre is not so easy to be.

"Oh my, I really miss this bite."

Yang Fengshan sighed and walked out, closing his eyes and

Just then, a young man preparing to use the restroom saw Factory Director Yang coming out and hesitated about whether to greet him.

Hearing him speak with such lingering relish, the young man's face turned green with disgust.

Yang Fengshan also saw him at this moment, and seeing the other's expression, he knew he had been misunderstood.

His old face flushed red, and he nearly died of shame in this frozen, snow-covered world.

He walked a few steps to the roadside and saw Seeing Sha Zhu standing with his back to him, smoking; he had a mind to complain to him for not keeping a lookout, but then remembered he hadn't thanked him for the wine and meat yet.

"Zhuzi, I'm truly grateful; I really haven't tasted meat in three months."

As Yang Fengshan spoke, he tucked the empty IV bottle back into Seeing Sha Zhu's pocket.

Seeing Sha Zhu waved his hand indifferently and handed the shovel in his hand back to the other man.

"I'm just being generous with someone else's property."

As he spoke, he threw away the cigarette butt in his hand and explained with a smile: "The wine is Li Xuewu's, and the pigeons were also a gift to him; I'm just borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha."

"Oh!"

Yang Fengshan looked at Seeing Sha Zhu in surprise, rubbed his mouth, and said with a smile: "I'm truly sorry I can't thank Deputy Director Li in person."

"Hey~ whether you thank him or not, he doesn't care."

Seeing Sha Zhu shook his overcoat and said with a smile: "I greeted him before I came here, and he even told me to look after your family."

"It's a pity, I didn't get through the door."

He shrugged his shoulders and explained: "I went to your house to knock, but the neighbor said your wife wasn't home; I don't know where she went."

"Mm, I see."

Yang Fengshan nodded with a dejected expression and said: "You have a kind heart; go back and thank Comrade Li Xuewu for me."

This time, he did not call him Deputy Director Li or Deputy Team Leader Li.

Li Xuewu is the primary person in charge of safety and supervision at the Steel Mill, and the family of a man like him, who is currently under investigation, naturally falls within the scope of his supervision.

Only someone as thick-headed as Seeing Sha Zhu would fail to hear the deliberate reminder in that, even going so far as to actually ask at his house.

There was no need to ask; when his wife left, where she went, and whom she met were likely all sitting on Li Xuewu's desk.

As for why Li Xuewu would have Seeing Sha Zhu come to remind him, that was not very clear.

But one thing he could be certain of was that Li Xuewu was absolutely not on the same side as Li Huai De.

"Don't overthink it, maybe she just went to visit relatives."

Seeing Sha Zhu was truly terrible at comforting people; even with his brain, he could figure out what had happened, yet he still thought he could deceive Yang Fengshan?

Yang Fengshan smiled slightly, finding Seeing Sha Zhu quite endearing—stupidly endearing.

He was over forty years old and had truly experienced the storms of life, having walked through those years; did he really need Seeing Sha Zhu to comfort him?

The emotional foundation between husband and wife had been thin to begin with, and with the incident involving his brother-in-law, how could his wife not have grievances against him?

Later, he actually figured out why Li Huai De hadn't broken his fortress from various angles, but instead chose to start with his family, dragging him down from his position in one fell swoop.

If there were no issues in all this, he wouldn't believe it for a second; furthermore, Li Huai De's current evasiveness in not moving against him showed just how guilty he felt.

So, having figured it out and seen it clearly, he had long since let it go.

During this time of being detained for supervision and labor, it wasn't as if no one had come to find him, but he had refused them all.

First, Li Huai De had already established a firm foothold, and second, Dong Wenxue and Li Xuewu were fanning the flames, pushing Li Huai De to the top.

Finally, the attitudes of Gu Weijie, Jing Yunong, and Xue Zhifu directly determined the fundamental goal that the Steel Mill needed stability, not strife.

The infighting of the early stages was already a thing of the past; now everyone was seeking stability and development, and if anyone stood up to cause trouble at this time, they would be the enemy of all.

Whether it was Yang Yuansong or the people sent from above to pass messages, now that he had truly left that position, he saw things even more clearly.

The Steel Mill of the past was like a pile of loose sand, kept in check by him and Yang Yuansong so that no one dared to stir up trouble.

But gradually, the grassroots forces centered around Dong Wenxue and Li Xuewu slowly rose, gathering around the two of them to become the most formidable small group in today's Steel Mill.

The most obvious signs were Dong Wenxue taking over the Steel Plant and Li Xuewu outmaneuvering Fu Bin to establish a firm foothold in the Security Division.

By the time he realized this small group had become a threat to the development and balance of the Steel Mill, their power was already established.

Especially after Li Huai De took the initiative to connect with them and stood on the same side as Gu Weijie, it was impossible for anyone to move against them anymore.

It wasn't that Yang Fengshan hadn't thought about playing a ruthless hand, even if it meant scraping the bone to remove the poison.

But facts proved that the poison remained, and his legs had been broken by the others.

His right-hand men—one was sentenced, one betrayed him, and the last was kicked out of the core, living a life even worse than his.

No wonder Nie Chenglin never showed his face again after that; he simply hated him for being an incompetent general who dragged down thousands of troops.

"Nothing much, just rambling to you."

Seeing Sha Zhu tightened his overcoat, suddenly smiled, and said: "Li Xuewu's father checked me out last time he came back and said I was ill, that I needed to interact with people more and keep an open mind; I also advise you to keep an open mind."

"Is that so~ what's the situation?"

Yang Fengshan reached out and squeezed Seeing Sha Zhu's arm; he was as sturdy as a calf, and he didn't see any problems.

"It's not a physical ailment."

Seeing Sha Zhu smiled nonchalantly, gestured to his head, then suddenly felt it wasn't appropriate, so he tapped his heart instead and said: "He said it's pent-up frustration, that I'm stuck in a rut."

"You have worries, and you can get stuck in a rut?"

Yang Fengshan was quite surprised, amusedly draped his arm over Seeing Sha Zhu's shoulder and patted it, saying: "Think about me, your older brother; look at what I've been reduced to—wife separated, family broken, and people dead—but life still has to go on, doesn't it!"

"Take this wine and this meat; you eat whenever you want, you're still better off than me."

As he spoke, he gestured toward the direction of the restroom where he had just gone to steal a bite, and laughed loudly: "Haha! If you want to be like me, even if you want to eat, you have to go eat there!"

"Ugh~~~"

It was the young man who had just crossed paths with Yang Fengshan; having just finished his business and coming out of the restroom, he heard the words, his face turned ash-blue, and unable to hold it back, he vomited right at the restroom entrance.