MMB Chapter 1707: Sword, Gut, Qin and Heart
Chapter 1707: Sword, Gut, Qin and Heart
Chapter 1707: Sword, Gut, Qin and Heart
Even with his extensive knowledge and experience in his previous life, Li Xuewu had never been to the lounge of the conference hall in the auditorium.
On the smooth marble floor, leather shoes walking on it only convey absolute loyalty to the people, and no sound is heard.
The middle-aged secretary gently knocked on the door, glanced back at Li Xuewu, and then pushed the door open and went in.
Li Xuewu waited respectfully outside the door until the middle-aged man reappeared at the door and waved to him.
It was clear that the middle-aged secretary was very satisfied with his politeness, but Li Xuewu felt that he was not very kind.
For a meeting of this level, he, as the secretary of the General Office, did not give him any hints or emphasize anything.
Even knowing his background, at such a young age, if there's no warning and he's even slightly impolite, it could be a lifelong issue.
That's why they say the inner workings of a government agency are as deep as the sea, and from then on, your conscience is fed to the dogs.
From Li Xuewu's perspective, he would certainly say that the other party was unkind, but he was no better.
Let's think about it from another perspective: what if he were the other person?
If there's no connection or purpose, he won't offer any advice; after all, being cautious in speech and action is an unspoken rule within the organization.
"Come--"
Before Li Xuewu could even knock, he simply appeared at the doorway and saw the old man sitting on the sofa inside nod.
The voice wasn't very loud, but the tone was very forceful.
"Sir—" Li Xuewu suddenly felt as if a stone was pressing on his throat, and dared not say another word.
"Okay, sit down."
The man pointed to the sofa on the side, gesturing for him to sit down.
Li Xuewu took a deep breath, composed himself, and walked towards the sofa, barely feeling himself move.
If people feel like they're floating when they're excited, that's exactly how he feels right now.
"Thank you, I..."
"Hmm, how many times have we met?"
The man seemed to know what he was going to say; his expression remained calm, but his tone softened considerably.
"This is the fifth time, the fifth time."
Li Xuewu sat upright with his legs together, the notebook in his hands resting on his knees.
Seeing his restraint, the gentleman didn't say anything, but instead asked, "I heard you're doing a very good job."
"Thank you for your concern, but I dare not be modest," Li Xuewu replied earnestly. "Even though I am determined to do my best to act with a clear conscience, I always find shortcomings when I reflect on my actions afterward."
"Yes, that's only natural." The gentleman leaned back on the corner of the long sofa, his right leg crossed, exuding a refined and scholarly air.
"When you're young, you always have a burning passion to do something." The gentleman looked into the void and sighed, seemingly commenting on Li Xuewu's answer or perhaps reminiscing.
After a moment of silence in the room, Li Xuewu finally spoke, saying, "Perhaps I was young and impetuous, and didn't know what I was doing."
Is this how you describe yourself?
The man glanced at him, nodded slowly, and said, "It's already very good that you can reflect on yourself. You're very good."
“Yes,” Li Xuewu hesitated for a moment, then looked directly into his teacher’s eyes and said, “I don’t know if saying this will offend you, but I have always regarded you as a role model for me.”
"Hehehe—" The man suddenly laughed, as if he could understand his feelings.
"I heard you're writing a new book?"
He didn't seem to be in a hurry to get to the point, and kept asking Li Xuewu unrelated questions.
Li Xuewu's tension gradually eased, at least he could now sit firmly on his buttocks.
"Yes, a book about safety management."
Li Xuewu nodded and explained, "These are some of my work experiences when I was in charge of safety production at Hongxing Factory."
"Very good, a good working method is to be good at summarizing experience." The man looked him over and asked, "Almost done writing?"
"Yes, I had this idea for a while, so I prepared very well and the writing went quite smoothly."
Although Li Xuewu's tone remained somewhat nervous throughout his answers, his attitude was very sincere and earnest.
There was no pretense, no affectation or exaggeration; he answered whatever the teacher asked.
The door to the lounge remained open, and the secretary who had just brought Li Xuewu would occasionally appear at the door.
Although he didn't know what the other person meant, he was certain that he would have to leave as soon as the man made any indication.
However, so far, the gentleman has not shown any intention of asking him to leave, and the conversation has not even gotten to the point.
Or perhaps he was unaware that the conversation had already gotten to the point, which was that the gentleman wanted to see him in person.
"They say you're a quick shooter."
The gentleman made a little joke, saying, "Others say it takes three or five years to write a book, but you can write three books in a year."
"It depends on the situation. If I have ideas and energy, I'm confident I can squeeze out time to write. If I don't have any ideas, there's nothing I can do."
Li Xuewu shrugged and replied with a smile, "They probably only saw the side of me that I write quickly."
"Yes, judging people and getting things done is an art."
The gentleman spoke meaningfully of his prediction, straightened up, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "You've worked in Liaodong for three years. Shouldn't you have some reflections on your organizational, management, and economic work? When will you write them down?"
"To be frank, it's not that I haven't thought about it."
Li Xuewu explained very frankly, "I even asked someone to buy the relevant books for me, but then I thought about it."
He looked at the gentleman and said, "With my current level and experience, I do have some unique insights, but they cannot be used as a theoretical basis for widespread promotion and practice."
"Or, in a scientific terms, my experimental data is not rich enough and not representative enough."
"But you've already achieved something."
The man looked at him and said, "I heard you performed exceptionally well on this trip to Japan? Is that right?"
"Without the guidance and help of my superiors, and without the command and support of the group leaders, I would not have had the opportunity to perform."
Li Xuewu spoke sincerely, and even the teacher could feel his sincerity, so he nodded.
"If I asked you to talk about economic work, you probably wouldn't want to, would you?" The man looked at him with a smile in his eyes, and unsurprisingly saw his predicament, so he said, "Then tell me about your group, what are your thoughts?"
"Then I will elaborate from four perspectives: industry, economy, organization, and culture."
When Li Xuewu saw the question from his teacher, he straightened up without flinching and said, "These are also the four things I emphasized at the meeting when I took office in Gangcheng. These are the four things I will do during this term."
The gentleman listened attentively, nodded, and said nothing, but indicated that he could speak.
The middle-aged secretary's figure flashed past the doorway again, seemingly faster this time, as if he were in a hurry.
Li Xuewu ignored him and spoke more and more fluently and in greater detail, citing classical texts and going on from three years ago to three years later, with each point supported by detailed data and case studies.
Although the gentleman asked him if he wanted to talk about domestic economic work, he was hesitant, but when he was describing his economic work plan for Honggang Group, he did talk about his judgment on the future economic situation, including international trade and the economic situation.
In particular, he spoke very carefully about the energy crisis and the collapse of America's economic control system, as well as the inevitable trend of the dollar being linked to oil.
What Li Xuewu said was not just random guessing; each judgment was based on multiple perspectives and several lines of reasoning, and he even predicted which regions would experience tensions in the next three years.
Returning to the economic work of Honggang Group, his discussion of the group's development direction and key tasks for the next three years was precisely based on his judgment of these situations.
Before anyone knew it, the middle-aged secretary had walked in and was standing at the door, listening intently.
However, just as he finished his report, the middle-aged secretary walked up to him and whispered something to him.
"Okay, I'll go in a bit."
The gentleman frowned slightly, his previous thoughtful expression vanishing. He dealt with his secretary before turning to look at Li Xuewu.
"You're still being too modest."
He nodded slowly and said, "You have a broad vision and a strong strategic awareness, especially in your judgment of economic work."
"This proves those rumors. People say that Honggang Group's success today is all thanks to you."
"I can't believe it, it's too exaggerated." Li Xuewu smiled and said, "If I really had that ability, why would I need to go through all the trouble of asking people to search for books everywhere?"
"Then I can write books and teach others how to get rich."
"Young people are full of ambition, and they are no less capable than the ancient sages."
The gentleman smiled slightly and said, "What you said is very good, and your ideas are also very good. But you need to put them into practice."
He stood up, supporting himself on the sofa armrest, and extended his hand, saying, "I look forward to your ideas becoming a reality."
"I will certainly live up to your expectations."
Li Xuewu took the old man's hands with both hands and nodded solemnly.
"I'll see Secretary-General Li off." The middle-aged secretary finally remembered who Li Xuewu was, and addressed him respectfully.
Before leaving, Li Xuewu gave his teacher a very standard and serious salute, which surprised the middle-aged secretary.
The gentleman showed no surprise, for this was exactly the "sword-wielding courage and musical heart" he remembered.
***
"I'll leave you here."
The middle-aged secretary escorted Li Xuewu to the stairwell, but to his surprise, she unexpectedly extended her hand.
"My surname is Song, and I work in the Second Office of the General Office."
"Director Song, welcome to Honggang Group for guidance." Li Xuewu reacted quickly, shaking hands with both of Song's hands, which were a little soft, which was normal.
"Okay, see you again sometime."
Secretary Song didn't say anything, just nodded, let go of his hand, and went back.
Li Xuewu glanced at his retreating figure before stepping down the stairs. By then, there were hardly any people left in the venue.
Upon seeing him appear at the gate, Qi Yan drove the car over. Before the car had even come to a complete stop, Ma Baosen got out of the passenger seat and jogged over to open the car door for him.
"Back to the group."
When Li Xuewu got on the bus, he only said this one sentence.
Ma Baosen steadily closed the car door, and as he walked around the back of the car, he couldn't help but look up at the solemnity above him.
-
"Why do you think we should send him there?"
Cheng Kaiyuan strolled into Zhang Jingsong's office, made himself a cup of tea, and casually borrowed a cigarette.
Unlike Deputy Director Zhou, Zhang Jingsong was not polite at all. He glanced at him and asked, "Are you out of tea leaves again?"
See, the word "again" is used, which means that there is often a shortage of tea leaves in President Cheng's office.
"The genuine pre-rain Longjing tea will arrive soon," Cheng Kaiyuan explained casually. "I'll return two taels to you then."
"You've borrowed about half a jin from me, haven't you?"
Zhang Jingsong got up and came to the sofa, picked up a teacup and said, "It's at least eight ounces, if not half a pound."
"Half a catty is only eight ounces," Cheng Kaiyuan said with a laugh. "Don't be so stingy, we're comrades."
“I’m a comrade, I can take a bullet for you, but you can’t take my tea.” Zhang Jingsong glanced at him and said, “Because I really do have tea.”
"Look at you like this—" Cheng Kaiyuan said with a smile, "Alright, alright, I'll give you back half a jin, okay?"
He didn't care whether his face was big or small, saying he'd only borrow half a jin, and maybe he could borrow as much as he wanted in the future.
Zhang Jingsong wasn't short of money; he just couldn't stand Cheng Kaiyuan's idle chatter.
"Weren't you in Deputy Director Zhou's room?"
"He had something to do and went out."
Cheng Kaiyuan shook his head and said with a smile, "I guess he went to get reinforcements."
"You found out again?" Zhang Jingsong snorted and said, "You should be assigned to guide the work of the radio station."
"I'm just bored right now," Cheng Kaiyuan said nonchalantly as he picked up the thermos and refilled the teapot with hot water. "Who told us to have such a capable person in our team?"
"Can I interpret this as envy or jealousy?"
Zhang Jingsong didn't hold back when he spoke, because there was no point in being polite to someone like Cheng Kaiyuan; the more polite you were, the more he would think you were a pushover.
These days, everyone can live a good life except for the nice guy.
"That's right, you can totally understand it that way. I'm not some hypocrite who schemes against others behind their backs."
Cheng Kaiyuan laughed and said, "Let's be honest, who knows, maybe he'll be our leader in the future."
"If you ask me, you really shouldn't say that."
Zhang Jingsong was also good at talking nonsense. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "You have to be mentally prepared for this."
"So you're pregnant?" Cheng Kaiyuan asked, raising an eyebrow as he held up his teacup. "Everyone says you two are close, is that true?"
"My relationship with you is bad?"
Zhang Jingsong replied irrelevantly, "If it were an ordinary person, would I have let him freeload like this until now?"
"Hehehe—" Cheng Kaiyuan chuckled without saying a word, sipped his tea, and said that some things didn't need to be said too clearly.
Whether Zhang Jingsong and Li Xuewu reached some kind of tacit understanding is no secret to those who are interested.
It's as obvious as a louse on a monk's head.
It should be noted that Zhang Jingsong, like him, also has historical issues, but he was able to serve as the director of the Liangmahe Industrial Zone Management Committee. Why is that?
It's not that Zhang Jingsong's vice president ranking was low or high, but that he was able to take over Dong Wenxue's business without some connections. Who would believe that?
Everyone knows that Dong Wenxue's future at Honggang Group is ruined after this ordeal. Don't be fooled by the fact that he is now the safety director, which seems like a step forward.
The reason why Li Xuewu ranked so high as the safety director of Honggang Group is because of his design and planning in the early years.
Honggang Group has always attached great importance to safety in production and has done a lot of publicity work.
Li Xuewu even wrote many books to endorse this theory, which had an impact nationwide.
Therefore, the position of security director is now higher than that of a typical vice president.
But actually?
Currently, the overall environment for safety production management in industrial enterprises across the country is not optimistic, and the situation of Honggang Group is still an isolated case.
Even with increased efforts from higher authorities to promote safety management, the results have been minimal.
To put it bluntly, in an era when people couldn't even get enough to eat, human life was actually worthless.
Workers living in Beijing say that the lives of workers at Honggang Group are precious, and that it would be a great sin for three to die in a year.
This happened last year. A total of three accidents resulting in injuries or fatalities occurred throughout the year, and the group designated them as typical cases of safety production management and took strict measures against them.
It is unknown how many officials were punished because of these three accidents, but this serious attitude has truly shocked the industrial system.
When everyone saw that the safety magazine published by Honggang Group analyzed and summarized these three cases from multiple perspectives and scientifically, and announced the results of the handling, it showed everyone that Honggang Group takes safety production work seriously.
This led many employees to compare their situation and realize that the workers at Honggang Group were more valuable.
Those who didn't know better would have thought something terrible had happened, but when they looked at the magazine, it turned out that only three people had died.
This psychological contrast with reality gives everyone's perception of the event a bizarre and ironic quality.
Is it a lot or a little for a large corporation with 60,000 employees to have three casualties in a year?
The amount wasn't determined by anyone else, but by the safety production management regulations that Honggang Group has been implementing for several years.
Many companies also want to gamble on this reputation, but once they get the regulations back, the leaders just glance at them and put them aside.
Simply put, if you were to count the number of work safety accidents and casualties in the company that year according to this standard, he would be the first one to be fired.
Therefore, Honggang Group has a safety director position, which is also a high-ranking vice president position, which is quite novel for many companies.
Although the management of workplace safety has been approved by higher authorities, this path is too unique.
By taking on this position, Dong Wenxue undoubtedly chose the narrowest path, severely limiting his future.
How much of a stir can the safety production work of a single steel group make? Unless a nationwide emphasis on safety is launched, there is little hope.
This is something everyone knows but can't say outright. No business leader would admit to disregarding human life.
Dong Wenxue's move was entirely paying the price for his past negligence, and it served as a lesson.
If he continues to work diligently in his position as director of the Liangmahe Industrial Zone Management Committee, he will definitely be on the path to becoming the first deputy general manager in the future.
Now Zhang Jingsong has benefited, can't you believe it?
Others may not know, but Cheng Kaiyuan was quite angry. He could be loyal, after all.
Why did Li Xuewu choose this incredibly arrogant guy?
Is Zhang Jinsong arrogant?
Just as Cheng Kaiyuan remembered, he was capable, hence arrogant, but also more persistent.
Getting the script that Dong Wenxue had to give up can be described as luck, but it is also a kind of ability.
Think about who else is ahead of you?
Below the three core leadership team members is Jing Yunong, who is responsible for finance and human resources.
But Jing Yunong is precisely the one with the least chance of competing for the position of executive vice president, because she is too unbalanced in her studies.
An industrial enterprise, and the executive vice president has no industrial management experience? This is no joke.
By this standard, Gao Yaqin would be outcompeted, and even the newly arrived Fu Cheng would be uncompetitive.
Cheng Kaiyuan was the only one who had been in charge of industry from the very beginning, while Zhang Jingsong was in charge of the Liangmahe Industrial Zone and made up for the work.
But if we're talking about the greatest opportunity, it has to be Li Xuewu. He's a ruthless guy. In order to make up for the shortcomings in industrial management, he was even willing to take the risk of working in Liaodong for three years.
Keep in mind that this is three years, not three weeks. Some positions are vacant for three weeks and you don't even know if you can come back.
Li Xuewu, however, had the audacity to completely relinquish his position as the group's secretary-general and become a factory director.
That's why Li Xuewu had the best chance; he fought his way through entirely on his strength, killing anyone who stood in his way.
How much brute force did Su Weide use to stop Li Xuewu from getting this position, and what was the result?
Now I don't even dare to show my face.
So, after this incident, Cheng Kaiyuan first went to Zhou Wanquan's office, and then to Zhang Jingsong's office.
He disliked neither of them, yet he had to put on a show of intimacy, which was a torment for both of them.
No matter how good his acting is, he can't portray the deep bond between brothers.
"This time, let's settle this once and for all."
Seeing that he didn't speak, Cheng Kaiyuan took the initiative to continue the original topic, saying, "This is truly earth-shattering."
"Are you surprised?" Zhang Jingsong said calmly, "It seems perfectly natural to me."
"What surprises me is how natural it all seems."
Cheng Kaiyuan remarked with a touch of emotion, "Just right; a little earlier would be too early, a little later would be too late."
"Tsk tsk tsk—" he clicked his tongue and said, "What kind of brain does someone have that can be so cunning and calculating?"
"You think he's scheming? Hah—"
Zhang Jingsong glanced at him and sneered, "You underestimate him."
"Am I underestimating him?" Cheng Kaiyuan said with a smile. "I'm already amazed by his talent. If I think he's any better, I'd have to offer him incense and pay my respects."
"No matter what, this time it's settled." He breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Who would dare to scheme against him now?"
“You care about him too much—” Zhang Jingsong straightened up and leaned back on the sofa, saying, “The more you do this, the less you can sleep.”
"Who said I couldn't sleep because I was worried about him?" Cheng Kaiyuan emphasized, "I'm worried about the group's work and future."
"Heh—" Zhang Jingsong shook his head with amusement and said, "I'll take that as your opinion."
"What do you mean by 'taken care of'?!" Cheng Kaiyuan pointed at the coffee table and said, "Didn't I make the production plan for the second half of the year?"
"If it weren't for my support, would he have been able to have such a smooth ride in Liaodong? I've done nothing wrong, have I?"
"Look at you, what's the rush—"
Zhang Jingsong raised his hand and said with a smile, "I was just saying, you actually took it seriously."
"Of course I took it seriously!" Cheng Kaiyuan emphasized, tilting his head back. "I'm just being honest, so what?"
-
"I don't know what it means, I'll just answer whatever they ask." Li Xuewu sat opposite Old Li, thought for a moment, and said, "It seems like they're concerned about our company?"
"Ha—how could that be—"
Li Huaide casually tossed a small pill into his mouth, twitched the corner of his mouth, and said, "Even if we wanted to know about the work situation of our group, we wouldn't need to ask you to report to us separately."
He picked up the glass of water on the table and said, "I think I just want to talk to you."
The pill tasted bitter in his mouth, and a glass of cold water couldn't completely relieve the bitterness, but since his secretary wasn't around, he had no choice but to endure it.
This is the disadvantage of having three secretaries. As Lu Xun once said, "One monk carries water to drink, two monks carry water together, but three monks have no water to drink."
When he got to Old Li's place, he had no water left for his three secretaries.
Li Xuewu got up, went to the tea cabinet by the door, grabbed a thermos, and refilled his glass with hot water.
"If it doesn't work, you should see a doctor."
He watched as Old Li took his medicine like it was candy, but he was worried that he might not last more than a few years before passing away.
Who takes medicine like this? Old Li has already taken medicine three times since he came in. Even when playing a dungeon, people don't take medicine like this.
"It's okay, I know my own body."
Li Huaide was very stubborn. He picked up the water cup and took a sip without even caring that it was hot.
He let out a long breath, then put down his cup and said softly, "Middle age is inevitable. You're still young, you don't know."
Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow. There were things he knew, but he didn't want to say them.
His father had been a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner his whole life and had seen all sorts of situations. He was grateful to the organization for not abandoning someone like Old Li, who indulged in all sorts of vices, to have survived this long.
Take his diabetes for example. If it had appeared a year earlier, he would have been terminally ill.
The irony is that just as artificially synthesized insulin was invented and put into small-scale production, he contracted the disease.
Sometimes he himself said that he didn't know whether it was a blessing or a curse.
"It's okay, medication will keep it up."
Li Huaide put away the metal medicine box on the table, gestured for him to sit down, and continued talking.
"Your answer is correct, as can be seen from his performance, which you just mentioned."
He thought for a moment and said, "If you ask me, don't worry too much about it. It's a matter of opinion. In the end, you did nothing wrong."
"Yes, I was worried that I might have overlooked something, so I thought it would be better to report and communicate with you than to overthink it myself."
After Li Xuewu sat down, he picked up his notebook and said, "I just don't know if what I said will have any impact on our group. I just hope I don't say anything wrong."
"It's not as serious as you think. He's still looking at you as a person, you personally."
Li Huaide thought for a moment and said, "This is also your luck. It seems that when luck comes, no one can stop it."
He said Li Xuewu didn't believe this. If he believed in luck, he wouldn't have reached his current position.
As he left Lao Li's office, the corridor was quiet, but he knew how many eyes were watching him.
After returning to his office and reviewing some documents, he called Ma Baosen to leave work when the bell rang.
Of course, just like before, Ma Baosen didn't need to take him home; he could go to the Unity Hotel next door on his own.
Qi Yan parked the car at the entrance of the building. Li Xuewu opened the car door himself, telling him to go pick up Gu Ning first, as he would be going home for dinner that evening.
The children have already been picked up by the third child. During the summer vacation, Grandpa's traditional Chinese medicine class will start again.
Now, Li Shu tries to take her grandfather's pulse at home, just like he does, but it's just for fun; she doesn't have the skill yet.
How was your day?
Gu Ning came out of her workplace and saw his car parked in the yard, so she walked over and got into the car.
She didn't care about the stares of her colleagues around her, and let Qi Yan close the car door for her while asking this question.
Li Xuewu smiled and nodded, saying, "Not bad, how about you?"
"I'm like this every day." Gu Ning glanced at him and, seeing that he was genuinely relaxed, smiled as well.
She was very familiar with that person, having seen him frequently when she was a child.
Even after they grew a little older, they could still see each other every year when they attended banquets with their parents.
Not to mention private meetings, she was the most favored in the Gu family, but she was a stranger to that person.
Or rather, in her previous life, she had no concept of ideology or politics.
I respect him, but not to the point of worship, because it's hard to worship someone you know too well.
It feels unfamiliar because I only realized after growing up that work is work, and personal relationships cannot take precedence over work.
Sometimes, the complexity of work relationships can even affect interpersonal relationships.
Some comrades-in-arms turned against each other over trivial matters, their families stopped communicating, and naturally, their children stopped playing together.
However, in recent years, because of her relationship with Li Xuewu, she has gained some understanding of these things.
At least she knew what today's meeting and conversation meant for Li Xuewu.
It's a pity she wasn't interested in officialdom, and she never thought of using Li Xuewu's identity to indulge in the life of a wife.
She was happy simply because Li Xuewu was happy; there were no other factors involved.
So I simply asked Li Xuewu if his day went smoothly, and when he said yes, that was enough.
“My sister-in-law brought some beef, and I asked Xuecai to take it home so we could all eat it together.”
"How much did you take? Is it enough to eat?" Li Xuewu asked, sitting in the car. "If you're not full, just buy some more here."
In an era where pork is already expensive, beef is even more precious; you need incredibly strong connections to buy beef.
However, the Honggang Group's supply and marketing service department does supply beef, not only from the reclamation area of the Third Regiment, but also from imported beef.
The imported goods mentioned here refer to the products distributed through Tianjin Shunfeng Trading Coordination.
Meat at sea is all frozen; in this day and age, nobody cares about freshness anymore.
Unless it's a special train carrying meat products from the border region, the source of this product can be confirmed, but even then, it's limited to the group's supply and marketing system.
"There's plenty, we probably won't need it."
Gu Ning explained, "Last time, Mom said that it wouldn't taste good to use only beef as filling; you also need to use half pork."
This must mean they're making dumplings. There's no meal more satisfying than dumplings on a family reunion day.
Beef dumplings, that's really good.
Qi Yan dropped them off at the gate of the compound and drove away, saying he would come back to pick them up later.
"Dad—" Li Ning, carrying a small shovel, turned around and saw that it was him and his mother coming. He then took off running into the yard.
"Oh, ancestors!" Someone shouted, and the courtyard became lively.
Once the two entered the courtyard, Sha Zhu stood in the outer yard and complained to them, "Look, they've all been dug up, even the ones that were just planted."
As darkness fell, Li Xuewu went closer and discovered that it was a pot of some kind of flower, which was blooming quite beautifully.
"What's wrong with you?" He was really mean. Instead of disciplining his son, he teased Sha Zhu: "People say there are three things that are never boring: growing flowers, raising birds, and fishing."
“My son is helping you. If this continues, you’ll really end up with a birdcage and you’ll be living a life that’s going backwards.”
-
P.S.: My wife is in the hospital and I'm taking care of her. I borrowed this from the nurses' desk to write this. Please forgive me.