Chapter 979: You are truly ruthless!

"Director Li."

"Welcome, welcome!"

Upon learning that the shipyard negotiation and coordination meeting had progressed smoothly, Li Huai De had been waiting at the Trade Management Center early on.

Li Xuewu took the initiative to greet him as soon as he entered, and he also expressed his welcome to Andrew and his party, who had returned from their inspection of the victory.

"I am very pleased to have reached a cooperation agreement with Gili Star Yacht Manufacturing Company in Jinmen. On behalf of..."

Li Huai De delivered his well-wishes regarding this cooperation in the lobby of the management center's office building.

The crowd at the scene stood around him, listening and applauding; it was clear he was truly very happy.

Li Xuewu, standing to one side with Xu Si Nian, was the same, but in his heart, he was muttering: You are happy far too early!

His gaze swept over Gao Yaqin and the others; by this time, the three of them had already returned to their respective teams.

Li Huai De was speaking enthusiastically in the middle, while the accompanying teams from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already begun to discuss.

According to the information passed back by the three, it was not just the accompanying team remaining in Jinmen that was working; even the leaders of the ministries in Jingcheng were making arrangements.

Only Li Huai De had been busy yesterday and had not paid attention to the reactions of these people, still thinking that everyone was happy because the Rolling Mill was about to sign a big contract.

It was not until his speech ended that Sha Qi Zhi, the Director of the Foreign Affairs Office, sent Andrew and his party off to rest first, preparing to attend the upcoming signing ceremony.

And Li Huai De, under the signal of Gao Yaqin and the others, attended an ad-hoc office meeting.

In the large conference room of the Trade Management Center, the four parties—the Rolling Mill, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Ministry of Industry, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—stood divided.

Gao Yaqin, who had long since been signaled by Li Xuewu's eyes, gritted her teeth and looked at the somewhat bewildered Li Huai De, saying: "Director Li, our Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation's stance is that we do not support this cooperation."

"What?"

Li Huai De frowned, thinking he had misheard.

He looked at the other party with some suspicion, then looked at the atmosphere in the conference room, only then realizing that they hadn't been cheering for him just now.

"Do you know what you are saying?"

"To be precise, we do not support the Rolling Mill's declaration procedures for this project."

Gao Yaqin said with a serious expression: "For this kind of actual business operation that detaches from the supervision of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and involves foreign trade, we have the right to supervise and stop it."

"Especially!"

Her gaze turned to Liu Shaozong, who was sitting opposite, and she said: "We firmly oppose this form of foreign operation that uses industrial capacity output as a condition for declaration."

"What do you mean?"

Li Huai De's brain was not enough to process this now; they had finally managed to negotiate with the Italians, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation jumped out to oppose it.

"It means opposing this project detaching from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation's scope of supervision."

Li Xuewu, sitting behind him, quietly explained: "It should have to do with the management of operations, foreign exchange, and foreign-related projects."

Li Huai De nodded knowingly and looked at Gao Yaqin, just about to speak, but was preempted by Zhou Gancheng.

Amidst the stern gazes of the various officers from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he, wearing a somewhat comical white gauze bandage, expressed his concerns about this project quite directly.

The investigated circumstances included the vague background check of the Italian businessman Andrew, the lack of regulatory oversight for the project's capital operations, and the fact that the Steel Rolling Mill lacked sufficient foreign-related security guarantees for the project...

Li Huai understood every sentence and every word he said, but when strung together, they became somewhat ambiguous.

And Li Xuewu, sitting behind Li Huai like a translator, explained the other party's meaning to him.

Zhou Gancheng also used the phrase "do not support the cooperation of this project" as a concluding remark, completing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' notification of opinion.

Xu Si was somewhat anxious and took the initiative to stand up and begin explaining the origins of this project's cooperation, as well as the issues involved in the cooperation process.

He wanted to explain it proactively, fearing that these people would talk nonsense out of ignorance or have some opinions about them.

How could the people from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs listen to his explanation? At this moment, they were speaking or asking questions one after another, emphasizing that the key point was that this type of foreign trade behavior carried the risk of bourgeois infiltration and should be boycotted.

Good heavens!

Li Huai hadn't even had a chance to say a word before the discussion on the scene had directly slid to such a deep level.

If it slid any further, would he have to resign in disgrace and go home to hold his children!

He really didn't understand why the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had ended up in the same camp as the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, and why they were so clearly opposed to the shipyard's cooperation project.

There must be a reason for this; why hadn't any news come back during the inspection in Yingcheng?

Li Xuewu could read his expression and explained in a low voice from behind that during the Yingcheng inspection, the heads of the three departments had acted independently and had not been together with the factory side.

Even when they held small meetings, they weren't held in the same place, and when asked at large meetings, they just said they had no opinions.

In any case, the explanation given to Li Huai was that as the leader of the team, he was completely unaware of their attitudes and opinions, and that this was purely the three of them deliberately looking for trouble.

Li Huai was no fool, either; he certainly didn't believe Li Xuewu when he said that.

But the current situation was laid out here; even if Li Xuewu had offended them, or if someone really wanted to lay a trap for the Steel Rolling Mill, it was impossible for two units to be affected.

How much capability would that take!

In order to express his determination and to prove his innocence, Li Xuewu took the initiative to stand up and once again emphasize to everyone the identities of Andrew and his party and the source of their trade relationship.

He focused on the cooperation during the Yangcheng Trade Fair and further spoke about the importance the leaders above placed on foreign trade work.

Regarding the issues raised by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, he also followed Xu Si's words and picked out the key points to explain the essence of the cooperation between the Steel Rolling Mill and the Gilly Star Company.

Based on the shipbuilding qualifications reported to the Ministry of Industry, they were producing as an OEM for the Gilly Star enterprise, while Gilly Star provided guidance and feedback on advanced foreign technology.

Regarding the trade relationship, it belonged to two-way cooperation, with the particularity of capital and technology exchanges, and should belong to the vertical management of the Ministry of Industry.

Regarding the item of foreign exchange funds, Li Xuewu again emphasized the significance and major impact of shipbuilding trade.

He emphasized the security of capital management and technology management required by the Gilly Star Company in the cooperation.

In order not to cause trade risks, and to carry out cooperation with Gilly Star more securely, cooperation could only be carried out in this form.

Li Huai nodded in agreement as he listened to Li Xuewu's speech.

He was also thinking that perhaps the two departments had developed covetous hearts for this project, or that the relationships above had not been handled well.

And Li Xuewu, in the process of explaining, had already expressed the background of this project and further explained the Steel Rolling Mill's determination to succeed.

Using both soft and hard tactics, Deputy Director Li's speech was clear and logical, having more substance than even Xu Si's.

He thought to himself, we've already said this much, and Deputy Director Li has explained it so clearly, you should know what's going on by now, right?

However, before Li Huai could express a look of pride and confidence, the officers and researchers from the two departments were all stubbornly fixated on the issue of "foreignness."

The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation insisted on foreign control.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was constantly worried about foreign risks.

No matter how it was explained, it was useless; it was as if only the Steel Rolling Mill's cooperation had this kind of control and this kind of risk.

Li Huai's face darkened when he heard this; no matter how good his temper was, he was dissatisfied with the speeches of the two departments at this moment.

It was just that he could still endure it for now, wanting to take the initiative to stand up and use his status to suppress them.

But today was truly strange; everyone could get a word in, except for him.

Before he could speak, Liu Shaozong took the initiative to stand up and express his affirmation and support for the Steel Rolling Mill's shipbuilding project implementation policy.

This allowed Li Huai, who was eager to speak, to relax slightly; as long as someone helped, it wasn't too bad, and the Ministry of Industry was on his side.

Liu Shaozong stood righteously from the perspective of the Ministry of Industry to expound and emphasize the significance and impact of the project.

He further expressed the importance the leaders of the Ministry of Industry placed on this project and expressed a positive attitude toward the Steel Rolling Mill's development toward a group-oriented goal.

In his speech, he pointed out that the suspicions of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were unrealistic, interfered with development, and affected the overall situation.

During the project approval process, the Ministry of Industry provided guidance throughout, and the commercial background of the Italian businessman Andrew had already been coordinated and investigated.

And regarding shipbuilding operation policies, the Ministry of Industry also had the right and ability to help the Steel Rolling Mill obtain more advanced technology and financial support.

At the end of his speech, Liu Shaozong reiterated the compliance of the Steel Rolling Mill's shipbuilding project, stating that there was no risk of bourgeois infiltration and that the project should be supported.

Listening to his words, Li Huai gradually began to understand.

It seemed that this was not just a problem for the Steel Rolling Mill, but also an opinion from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs directed at the Ministry of Industry for "eating alone."

At this moment, he felt a bit more confident and felt that it was time for him to speak.

But today, this office meeting was going to suffocate him; everyone could speak, but they just wouldn't give him a chance.

Every time he waited to speak, someone would rush to speak, and he couldn't interrupt them.

Just imagine, as the head of the Steel Rolling Mill, not being allowed to speak—he must be feeling incredibly stifled.

Hey! The more stifled, the better!

Li Xuewu was sitting behind him, watching his small movements under the table; he was truly anxious.

You're anxious?

I have to make you even more anxious, anxious enough to lose your temper!

Li Huai wanted to open his mouth to speak, but the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, led by Gao Yaqin, once again rushed ahead of him, refuting Liu Shaozong's speech point by point.

And the people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Zhou Gancheng, also started by beating the drums, beginning to lecture the people from the Ministry of Industry on foreign affairs management discipline.

Although there were few people from the Ministry of Industry, their voices were loud; the order they received was that they absolutely could not let go of this project.

Once the management authority of this project was lost, then the management of other foreign industrial outputs in the future would have to be handled in the same way.

This was no longer just about the Steel Rolling Mill's shipbuilding project; it had escalated into a dispute over future management authority.

Good heavens, the scene of the meeting was so lively!

The people from the three departments were arguing heatedly; you don't yield to me, I don't yield to you—if this matter isn't made clear, no one is going to have a good time.

Just tell me, who in this room can control whom?

Although the three leading cadres were all at the deputy division level, could Li Huai restrain them?

How could he? They had come to your Steel Rolling Mill from the Ministry, so they were the leaders.

Let alone half a level higher, they were more than a full level higher; no matter how big Li Huai's temper was, he wouldn't want to provoke them.

You might think he was at the top of the world at the Steel Rolling Mill, with a single pen, and everything was decided by him.

But go take a look at the Ministry of Industry; even a tiny section chief could make things difficult for you.

Let alone those running projects from the local areas, even local enterprises in Beijing found it difficult to secure projects at the Ministry of Industry.

Would old Li dare to go head-to-head with the deputy division chiefs of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

Of course not; their positions weren't high, but the approval authority in their hands was high.

Think about that person who was "pure and clean," with "two sleeves of breeze," only 70,000 yuan on his salary card, and so poor he liked to eat plain noodles—how did that room full of money come about!

In this place, sometimes you wouldn't trade a deputy division chief, or even a full section chief, for a hall-level position!

In any case, old Li was stunned now; watching the three departments argue into a tangled mess, his head was buzzing.

He was also an old cadre who had worked for many years; when had he ever encountered such a complex work scene?

Three ministries were tangled together; who had the ability to untie their knots?

Sha Qizhi walked in from outside, and seeing the noisy room, he thought he had walked into a vegetable market.

Not knowing what was going on, he quietly walked behind Li Xuewu and reminded him that the signing ceremony was ready, asking when it would start.

Li Huai had sharp ears and heard his report; he turned around and was about to speak.

But as luck would have it, Li Xuewu said at this moment: "What's there to sign? Don't you see that these people are fighting like dogs in here!"

Sha Qizhi and Li Xuewu were so tacitly coordinated; seeing the leader wink at him behind Director Li's back, he had a plan in mind.

He understood in his heart, but he couldn't say it out loud; he had to follow Li Xuewu's lead and continue the act.

He said with a face full of anxiety: "But the signing ceremony and the banquet have already been scheduled; it's not good to keep the foreign businessmen waiting. How rude that would be."

"And furthermore!"

Sha Qizhi glanced at the noisy meeting room and complained to Li Xuewu: "They are arguing back and forth; if they win, they get power, but if they lose, what do they lose?!"

"We are different!"

He stared with wide eyes and said: "Even if there's a good result after the argument, we've wasted time, and we're the ones losing everything!"

"What kind of talk is that!"

Li Xuewu frowned and reprimanded: "How are you serving as the Director of the Foreign Affairs Office? How dare you criticize the Ministry's leaders so directly? Why are you so inattentive to unity?!"

"Yes."

Sha Qizhi lowered his head in shame after being reprimanded by Li Xuewu, but his expression remained anxious and unconvinced.

His emotions directly influenced Li Huai, who had been listening all along; especially since he was worried about affecting the signing and the money-making, and Li Xuewu had pointed out the Ministry's constraints and opinions to fan the flames.

"I think Qizhi is right!"

Li Huai was also annoyed at this moment and finally spoke up.

How could he not be annoyed? He was about to sign a contract to earn foreign exchange, and these people had stood up to oppose it without rhyme or reason—who was going to pay for the losses!

"Director Li."

Li Xuewu, thinking his anger wasn't high enough, continued to add fuel to the fire: "We must always carry out our work under the leadership of the Ministry."

"If they maintain an opposing attitude, our future work will be troublesome."

As he spoke, he glanced at Sha Qizhi and said: "If this project of ours is lost, it's lost; it's nothing more than affecting capital preparation, affecting next year's development plan, and delaying the group-oriented process. If..."

"Stop talking!"

Li Huai felt a pain in his chest from what Li Xuewu said; he could hear his own heart dripping blood, "drip, drip."

So the project these people were delaying was all his money!

And it was affecting capital preparation, affecting development plans, and delaying the group-oriented process!

That was no small sin!

I, Li Huai, have finally had a big goal in my life, finally earned some money, and finally gained some reputation—is it easy for me!

You people are just messing things up for me; these people are truly hateful!

Li Huai's anger had reached the top of his head, but he was helpless and had no way to deal with this situation.

Who told him to be under someone else's roof? He had to bow his head.

Just as Li Xuewu said, delaying this project was one thing, but how would future work be done?

The Steel Rolling Mill must always carry out business activities under the leadership of various ministries.

Don't look at old Li as knowing nothing about business; he was a natural talent for management.

After taking full charge of the Steel Rolling Mill's management, his greatest harvest and insight was:

There was nothing at the Steel Rolling Mill that he, Li Huai, couldn't solve!

If there was, it must be because he hadn't had time to ask Li Xuewu yet.

Li Huai was extremely angry and turned his head to ask Li Xuewu: "How do you think this matter should be handled?"

"This..."

Li Xuewu also paused, making himself look somewhat cautious and hesitant, also to make Li Huai anxious.

After feeling it was about time, he analyzed: "I think these people are going crazy; for the sake of management power, they don't care about anything. They actually want to use our factory as a chessboard, as a ladder for progress, and want to engage in fighting here."

"Especially..."

Li Xuewu narrowed his eyes slightly and whispered a reminder: "Could they be trying to use our factory to test the attitude above regarding the Shanghai matter?"

"How can that be!"

No matter how much of a fool Li Huai was, he knew that a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.

He knew even better the principle that the tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind; the pile that stands above the bank will be eroded by the current; the person who stands above others will be criticized by the crowd.

Do you think he was crazy enough to dare to wade into these muddy waters?

He didn't want to; he couldn't hide fast enough!

"Tell me!"

Li Huai frowned and said to Li Xuewu: "What should we do?"

"If you ask me, this matter should be done quickly rather than slowly; cutting the Gordian knot is the best way."

Li Xuewu said softly: "You, it's time to flex our muscles and show our fists on behalf of our Steel Rolling Mill~"

Muscles? Fists?

Li Huai looked at his own arms and then at his own fists; where was there anything to show?

However, he also knew that Li Xuewu was asking him to represent the Steel Rolling Mill and express the proper attitude.

It was time to be a bit tougher, bring out the spirit of the head of the Steel Rolling Mill, and teach these people a lesson.

That was Li Xuewu's meaning as well; since the person behind the scenes dared to make small moves against him from the direction of the Steel Rolling Mill, he had no choice but to stop acting like a human.

He wanted to untie the rope around Li Huai's neck and tell him that these people wanted to destroy the Steel Rolling Mill's excellent development situation, obstruct the Steel Rolling Mill's development, and affect his progress.

Just imagine, if a dog heard that someone was planning to snatch its bone, what kind of reaction would it have?

Slap!

Li Huai slammed the table hard, stunning everyone in the meeting room.

He sat there with a stern face and said in a tough tone: "This is the Steel Rolling Mill; it's not your turn to call the shots yet!"

"Are the cadres in your Ministry this presumptuous when they hold meetings!"

Old Li was truly angry; although he didn't name names, his tone of criticism was very strong: "No organization, no discipline!"

"If there are problems, you can report them to me, you can discuss them with me, you can sit down and solve them slowly—can arguing solve problems!"

His shouting reduced the anger of everyone in the meeting room slightly.

And when everyone looked at him, waiting for him to speak, Li Huai pressed his hand on the table, pointed at the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation's opinion, and began to output.

He started from the Ministry's development opinions for the factory and went all the way to the Steel Rolling Mill's actions after the Yangcheng Trade Fair.

Following the Yangcheng Trade Fair, he pulled the topic to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He started questioning directly from the identity issue of Andrew raised by the other party—whose fault was this matter?

It was rare for Li Huai to lose his temper; he opened the "tongue battle against the scholars" mode, and the people from the Steel Rolling Mill were all dumbfounded.

Old Li had always been a gentle and elegant Confucian general; when had he ever been this fierce?

These words were very tough; slamming the table and cursing in front of so many people was truly unexpected.

Not only that, after Li Huai finished scolding these people, he didn't wait for them to continue speaking; he pushed his chair back, stood up, and left.

Leaving the three parties in the room looking at each other, not knowing what they should do next.

Old Li wasn't using this as an excuse to hide or escape; rather, the more he spoke, the angrier he got. He didn't want to waste words with these people, so he went to the next room and directly requested a call to Beijing, naming the leaders of the Ministry of Industry to talk to.

Here in the meeting room, everyone heard old Li reporting upward, and everyone quieted down; even the people from the Ministry of Industry, facing the cold glares of the other two ministries, stopped talking and waited for the follow-up.

The meeting room was quiet, and there was no movement in the corridor; only Li Huai could be heard shouting loudly on the phone, questioning the leaders of the Ministry of Industry why the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had come to obstruct during the Jinmen negotiations!

Old Li was truly something; the more angry and tough he was, the more confused and numb the leaders at the Ministry of Industry became, not knowing how big the problem here was.

Li Huai told the other party that the three departments were now arguing into a tangled mess—was this agreement going to be signed or not, and was the foreign exchange going to be earned or not!

The leaders of the Ministry of Industry were also overwhelmed; regarding old Li's serious attitude, the other party clearly expressed support and said they would coordinate.

"You take your time coordinating! I'm not waiting!"

Old Li was truly awesome; after saying that, he didn't give the other party any face and hung up the phone directly.

After coming out of the office, Li Huai looked at Sha Qizhi standing in the corridor and waved his hand, ordering: "Don't worry about them, we'll sign ours!"

"Let's go!"

Got it!

At Li Huai's order, the Steel Rolling Mill crowd in the meeting room stopped paying attention to the Ministry's cadres and all came out, walking toward the hall together.

The Ministry's cadres looked at each other; although they all had cold faces, with the Ministry of Industry taking the lead to go out, the other two sides also came out.

In the hall of the Trade Management Center, there was a temporarily built signing platform, with a table covered in red cloth, and a banner display board behind the table.

It looked quite official; Li Huai shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and signed with Andrew on the stage.

The publicity officer arranged by the Steel Rolling Mill held a camera and took photos with "click, click" sounds.

First, a handshake photo, then a signing photo, and finally a group photo.

Li Huai ordered that none of the three departments originally scheduled to participate in the group photo be invited to the stage.

Since they didn't give face, the Steel Rolling Mill side wouldn't indulge them either.

The officers from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stood on the periphery of the signing venue, watching coldly.

They all knew Li Huai had lost his temper, so they didn't push back, but they stood there watching to see how he would step down and lose face when the leaders above didn't agree in a while.

These people were all holding their breath; you don't listen to our command, you don't submit to our supervision—let's see how you die today!

From the news and information received, the leaders above also had opinions about the Steel Rolling Mill and the Ministry of Industry doing things this way.

Especially the news received in the past two days, which was to carry out more extensive criticism of this project.

Since they already knew the meaning of the leaders above, what did they have to doubt? Just do it.

Even if they couldn't beat the angry Li Huai now, wouldn't it be okay to stand here waiting for Li Huai and the Steel Rolling Mill to lose face, and then show a sarcastic and triumphant expression!

It wouldn't be excessive!

Not excessive at all!

Not everyone can experience the joy of foresight.

However!

There was no trace of triumphant foresight or happiness on the faces of Gao Yaqin and Zhou Gancheng standing under the stage; their attitudes were vastly different from the team behind them.

At this moment, everyone thought these two were showing a deep expression, deliberately pretending to leave some face for the Steel Rolling Mill.

To hell with leaving face!

I'm afraid Gao Yaqin and Zhou Gancheng were already cursing in their hearts at this moment.

The two of them joined forces to play the villain, wasn't it just to be cannon fodder for the Steel Rolling Mill?

They also never expected that Li Xuewu would involve Li Huai and even make the other party lose their temper.

Originally, they thought the three of them were helping Li Xuewu take the blame, but they didn't expect there to be a bigger pot behind the pot.

This pot was too big; it could be used as a cannon.

Looking at the arrogance of the people from the two ministries now, and the fact that they were pushing them to rush to slap the Steel Rolling Mill's face, wasn't it just these two?

From the time Li Xuewu proposed this plan on the boat to Yingcheng, they had a feeling that they were finished.

A series of events followed, proving that their feeling was correct; this matter was becoming more and more bizarre.

But if they didn't involve their own ministries, they would be the ones getting beaten when the time came.

So, "let the friend die, not the poor monk"—let's all get high together!

The people from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs watched coldly, while the Ministry of Industry side was filled with righteous indignation, looking at the other side with cold glares.

They supported the signing and even more supported the Ministry of Industry in maintaining and expanding the control of this type of economic and trade activity for enterprises.

Watching Li Huai shake hands, sign, and take photos with Andrew, although they weren't called to join, they still applauded.

Applauding was one thing, but they couldn't be happy.

They weren't stupid either; they knew how much pressure the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were putting on the Steel Rolling Mill.

Although this project was signed by casting aside the other two ministries, whether it could continue would depend on the meaning of the leaders above.

They were very spirited when arguing, but in reality, their confidence in this project was not sufficient.

This directly led to the Ministry of Industry cadres having heavy resentment but being helpless when facing the expressions of the other two departments waiting to see the fun.

The signing ceremony on stage ended, and everyone took photos and delivered speeches respectively.

Just as Li Huai was speaking, Li Haiyang suddenly walked onto the signing platform, stood behind him, and whispered something in his ear.

Li Huai was slightly stunned after hearing it, then narrowed his eyes and asked: "What?"

Li Haiyang thought he really hadn't heard clearly and wanted to lean into his ear to say it again.

But Li Huai turned his head, swept his gaze over everyone at the scene, and said coldly: "Speak up!"

"Yes!"

Li Haiyang was startled by him, then understood the leader's meaning and said loudly: "The Ministry replied, Comrade Zhou's instruction: proceed according to the existing plan."

"..."

After he finished speaking, the scene suddenly became quiet; you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone's gaze gathered on Li Haiyang, unable to believe that the news they heard was this message.

Let alone the people from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, even the people from the Ministry of Industry couldn't believe it.

What was the situation?

Could it be that the Steel Rolling Mill was playing a trick?

Deliberately arranging a secretary to fake an imperial edict to fool them?

Impossible!

The Steel Rolling Mill didn't have such big guts, and there was no need to take risks just to play with them.

Then there was only one truth...

Li Xuewu stood on one side of the stage, looked at Xu Si beside him, and the two of them shouted in unison with great tacit understanding: "Director Li is awesome!"

"Good!"

"Oh!"

"Director Li is awesome!"

"Hahaha~"

The sudden joy filled the hall of the Trade Management Center, and all the cadres and workers of the Steel Rolling Mill and the Ministry of Industry cheered.

The Gilly Star people didn't know what was going on; what was "awesome"?

Didn't they just sign the contract? Why didn't they cheer just now? This reflex arc was too damn long!

The scene reacted enthusiastically; everyone cheered and applauded, all looking at the people from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with triumphant eyes.

At this moment, all the cadres and workers of the Steel Rolling Mill trusted Director Li's tough attitude and shared the name of unity; this was the victory of unity.

The people from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs felt as if they were facing an abyss, extremely embarrassed; the "watching the fun" mentality they had just displayed suddenly cooled down, which was truly unbearable.

You can cheer if you want, why do you keep looking at us!

Especially the few cadres from the Ministry of Industry, who were smiling and applauding at Gao Yaqin and Zhou Gancheng.

The officers of the two ministries were unconvinced and wanted to reason with them, but were stopped by the two.

The people from the Ministry were angry and annoyed, but they remained very calm, as if their calm expressions from just a moment ago hadn't changed at all.

Because Gao Yaqin and Zhou Gancheng knew that this round, although it seemed they had offended the Steel Rolling Mill and Li Huai, was a complete loss.

However, in reality, they had landed safely; if it weren't for their reason, they would have gone to applaud with the people from the Ministry of Industry on the opposite side.

Look at those people applauding, those people cheering—how happy they were!

However, the leading cadre of the Ministry of Industry, Liu Shaozong, couldn't be happy.

Although the Steel Rolling Mill won and the Ministry of Industry won, he had lost.

On the surface, he became a lone hero, a presence that challenged the other side, but in reality, he knew he had offended the person behind the scenes.

It was just because he had no direct contact with the other party and was standing in the open that the other party wouldn't directly make things difficult for him.

But what about later?

If Li Xuewu didn't pull the other party down and kill them this time, what would happen later?

Besides, "a centipede dies but never falls"—could it be that he also had to turn into an avenger, helping Li Xuewu strike the other party and guard against a comeback?

Damn it, I said you couldn't get on Li Xuewu's boat; otherwise, it would be endless, and you would be controlled by him for a lifetime.

So an interesting scene appeared at the scene.

The people from the Steel Rolling Mill and the Ministry of Industry were cheering and happy, but Liu Shaozong had a mournful face, being pulled to applaud happily, with an expression that was even uglier than crying.

And the people from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stood there with gloomy faces, avoiding the triumphant gazes, but Zhou Gancheng and Gao Yaqin were very calm.

When it came to the banquet time, it was even more interesting; originally, the people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation didn't want to stay.

However, in the middle of the night, where could they find a meal? With so many people, without the Steel Rolling Mill's reception, they would all starve halfway.

So they pinched their noses and sat at the table; when the cadres from the Steel Rolling Mill's Foreign Affairs Office came to toast, they covered their glasses and didn't want to drink.

Is it okay not to drink!

Today is a celebration toast; you see our Deputy Director Li toasted Deputy Division Chief Gao and Deputy Division Chief Zhou, and they drank it—are you looking down on us?!

Hey! Today's wine was drunk so stiflingly!

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation truly felt that Director Gao Yaqin and Director Zhou Gancheng could endure; they were cadre roles, enduring humiliation and drinking for real.

Fine, just consider it comforting yourself; as long as people from the Steel Rolling Mill and the Ministry of Industry came to toast, they weren't polite either—drink if you want, anyway, drinking it was drinking for nothing.

Not only that, they took the initiative to attack and started toasting the people from the Ministry of Industry.

Weren't we arguing today? We each serve our own masters; there's no way around it—who told us to have this identity.

Now it's different; at the wine table, let's exchange some personal feelings.

Good heavens, they all started drinking using the Steel Rolling Mill's celebration wine.

The most awesome ones were those who dared to toast Director Liu Shaozong.

Just look at Director Liu's expression; it was as ugly as taking medicine, but he couldn't not drink.

Why?

Because this is a celebration toast; the Ministry of Industry won!

Your Ministry of Industry won, and I'm coming to toast you; if you don't drink, doesn't it mean that even the winners have emotions!

If you win, you must have demeanor, you must have face, and you must drink this glass of wine.

So Liu Shaozong felt bitter in his heart, but on the surface, he still had to force himself to drink the wine everyone toasted him with.

Only Li Xuewu still had a bit of conscience; he only caught Zhou Gancheng and Gao Yaqin to drink and didn't come to find Liu Shaozong.

Everyone felt that the Ministry of Industry and the Steel Rolling Mill were superior and subordinate; today they were one family, wearing the same pair of pants, so of course they didn't need to toast each other.

This wine, the more you drink, the more you drink, the more boring it gets.

Not only the cadres from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, but even the cadres from the Ministry of Industry, after drinking too much and savoring the taste, felt it was boring.

After arguing for a long time, who won in the end?

Wasn't it the Steel Rolling Mill that won itself? This shipbuilding industry developed to the end, wasn't it the Steel Rolling Mill that gained profit and fame? Why were they following along and making a scene?

So after three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes, the people from the three ministries left early, and even coordinated with the railway to take the train back to Beijing that night.

They didn't even want to stay here for one night; you can imagine how boring it was.

Li Xuewu was truly righteous; as the cadre representative of the Steel Rolling Mill, he took the initiative to rush to the train station to see everyone off.

He even distributed local specialties brought back from Yingcheng to everyone.

You say these cadres from the Ministry complained about themselves and complained about the Steel Rolling Mill, but do you think they would complain about Li Xuewu, who gave them gifts?

Of course not; work is work, and personal feelings are personal feelings.

But someone here was going to complain about Li Xuewu, and complain greatly.

Liu Shaozong vomited on the train platform and looked at Li Xuewu in a daze, pointing his finger at him and saying incoherently: "You! Deputy Director Li! You're too mean!"

Oh! What's the situation!

Seeing Deputy Division Chief Liu getting tough with Deputy Director Li, everyone around looked over.

A cadre from the Ministry of Industry pulled Liu Shaozong and whispered: "Deputy Division Chief Liu, you're drunk; that's Deputy Director Li!"

"I'm talking about Deputy Director Li!"

Liu Shaozong couldn't even stand steadily; he was swaying, and only stood straight when someone supported him.

The person supporting him also whispered: "We won; Deputy Director Li didn't even come to challenge you to a drinking contest—why are you losing your temper~"

"We won? We won?..."

Liu Shaozong's tears were about to fall; he hammered his chest and shouted: "I'm stifled~"

"..."

Those watching the fun were stunned; what kind of problem did Deputy Division Chief Liu have? He shouted he was stifled after winning—shouldn't we who lost jump down and lie on the tracks!

This person is truly hateful!

Who knows why Liu Shaozong was stifled?

No one knows; only the parties involved in this plan know—Li Xuewu knows, Gao Yaqin knows, Zhou Gancheng knows.

But knowing is knowing; who can say it out loud? Even Liu Shaozong, who was playing the drunkard out of stiflement, didn't dare to say it.

Watching the train enter the station, Gao Yaqin waved her hand, signaling to hurry up and support Liu Shaozong onto the train, while she glanced at Li Xuewu.

Although no words were spoken, Li Xuewu read the meaning in her eyes: You are truly mean!

Li Xuewu chuckled and scratched his forehead, smiling and waving his hand: "Can't go back today; you're in too much of a rush. Let's gather again after returning to Beijing!"

Gao Yaqin couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him; after Liu Shaozong got on the train, she turned around and followed him onto the train.

Zhou Gancheng, smelling of alcohol, looked at Li Xuewu again, shook his head slightly, patted his shoulder, and said in a low voice: "You're still the ruthless one!"

"What are you saying, we're all friends."

Li Xuewu had a sincere smile on his face and, ignoring the cold wind on the platform, sent them onto the train one by one.

When parting, he also urged the three to go to the club to play when they had time after returning to Beijing, and he would introduce friends to them then.

Zhou Gancheng was the last to get on the train; standing at the train door, looking at the impossibly young Li Xuewu through the glass, he felt a burst of bitterness and sourness in his heart.

Including him, even the person behind the scenes hadn't calculated that something would happen in Shanghai, and even less had they calculated that Li Xuewu would release Li Huai, this vicious dog!

Young and doesn't follow the rules of martial arts!

December 31st, evening, the last day of 1966, the Ministry of Industry officially coordinated with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other relevant departments to issue a document: industrial capacity export trade is mainly for earning foreign exchange through exports, and in principle, this type of foreign cooperation method is permitted.

According to this precedent, foreign industrial capacity export projects such as electrical industrial bases, food industrial bases, and hardware industrial bases can all be executed.

The Steel Rolling Mill won big~