Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

Li Jiuzhou stayed in his office for a while, then slowly walked towards the secretary's office with two packs of cigarettes in his pocket.

When they arrived at the office, a group of people greeted Li Jiuzhou again, and then someone went to announce his arrival.

The person returned quickly and said respectfully:

"Minister Li, the Party Secretary says you can go directly there."

Li Jiuzhou smiled and said, "Thank you."

I knocked on the door of Secretary Nie's office.

"Enter!"

Li Jiuzhou pushed open the door and entered, immediately a cloud of smoke rushed towards him. Li Jiuzhou waved his hand and looked up to see that his second uncle was also there.

"No, what's wrong with you two? The whole room is filled with smoke, and you don't even open the windows. It's choking us to death." After saying that, Li Jiuzhou went to open the windowsill to ventilate the room.

Secretary Nie's office is quite large and well-lit, with three windows, none of which are currently open.

With the air stagnant and someone smoking, it's no wonder they're choked by the smoke; it's just that the smoker didn't notice.

As soon as Li Jiuzhou sat down, Secretary Nie joked with him:

"Our Deputy Secretary Li Jiuzhou is here! He's indeed a handsome man, much more impressive than your second uncle."

Li Jiuzhou rolled his eyes at him:

"Are you trying to sow discord between me and my second uncle?"

"You're really overthinking it. I obey my second uncle's every command. Even if I were to secretly kill you... I wouldn't say a word."

Upon hearing this, Secretary Nie raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Huaide with unfriendly eyes:

"Huai De, do you want to kill me?"

Li Huaide gave a wry smile:

"Secretary, Jiuzhou is just joking with you. Besides, I don't have that ability."

"Hmm? So you really wanted to kill me, but you couldn't?"

Li Huaide waved his hands repeatedly in fright:

"Uh, no, no, no, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding, I didn't mean it that way."

Secretary Nie snorted coldly:

"Hmph, you're smart enough to know your place."

Li Jiuzhou smiled broadly. That's just how Secretary Nie is—approachable, easy to joke about, and harmless.

So he took out a cigarette, lit it for the two of them, and then brewed some tea for them.

Secretary Nie said to Li Jiuzhou:

"Jiuzhou, you don't really have much to do as deputy secretary; your main job is to assist me."

"Of course, your second uncle did most of the work. You two can discuss whether you want to share some of the work."

Upon hearing this, Li Jiuzhou paused in his tea-making process.

"Secretary, and Second Uncle, I'll take care of the logistics department and the canteen for now. Just let me know if you need anything else."

Upon hearing Li Jiuzhou's words, Secretary Nie and Li Huaide nodded in unison, as this was something they had discussed beforehand.

There's one head and two assistants in the factory now, so there's really not much to do.

Li Jiuzhou didn't want to do too much work.

Of course, there is another important point: Li Jiuzhou has also been added to the Standing Committee.

Whenever there were important meetings at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill, Li Jiuzhou would be able to sit at the table.

That's how the matter was settled so simply.

Secretary Nie suddenly seemed to remember something, grinned, and Li Jiuzhou asked:

"Secretary, what's the good news that makes you so happy? Share it with us!"

Li Huaide also became interested and looked intently at Secretary Nie.

Secretary Nie didn't hesitate; he took a document from his drawer and placed it on the table:

"You two will see for yourselves."

Li Jiuzhou picked it up with a puzzled look and examined it with his second uncle.

Li Jiuzhou finished reading it quickly and then smiled:

"Graduated from Peking University's Political Economy Research Program, wow, top talent!"

Name: Wang Zhiguo

"Family background: grandfather Wang Kaihe, father Yang... Yang Ligong, holy crap!"

As he read the last part, Li Jiuzhou's voice suddenly grew louder, clearly surprised!

Li Huaide was also utterly shocked:

"Damn, Old Yang's son is that awesome! I've never heard of him before!"

Seeing the two men's shocked expressions, Secretary Nie calmly exhaled a puff of smoke.

"What's the big deal? Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, and a rat's son is born knowing how to dig holes."

"Not only is Director Yang a professor at Tsinghua University, but his wife's academic qualifications are also comparable to his."

"During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Comrade Li Gong joined the Party through his wife's introduction."

"I must mention that Comrade Ligong is truly capable."

The uncle and nephew nodded in agreement after hearing this.

Secretary Nie continued:

"Back then, Comrade Li Gong and his wife basically lost contact with Old Wang, and Old Wang was even unaware that the two had married and had children."

"After all, the distribution of enemy and friendly forces was different at that time, and rashly contacting them would only cost us our lives."

"By the time Beiping was liberated, when Old Wang and his daughter and son-in-law were reunited, everything had changed."

"Even their grandson has grown up and has been raised exceptionally well by the couple."

"Now it's even more incredible! A Peking University graduate, with a bright future ahead of him—he's truly an outstanding individual!"

"Therefore, Old Wang valued Comrade Li Gong very much, treating him no differently than his own son."

The uncle and nephew listened with astonishment, never expecting that Yang Ligong had such a miraculous past.

Li Huaide suddenly asked:

"Secretary, I have a question. Was Wang Zhiguo born with the surname Wang, or did he change it later?"

"Yes, I'd like to know too."

Secretary Nie laughed: "Hahaha, you guys shouldn't judge others by your own petty standards."

"This Wang Zhiguo has had the surname Wang since birth!"

Li Huaide scratched his head, somewhat puzzled:

Why is that?

At this moment, Secretary Nie showed an expression of admiration:

"Because when Comrade Ligong and his wife got married, they didn't even know that there was such a person as Old Wang."

"His wife told Comrade Ligong that she was an only child, meaning she had no male heir."

"Comrade Ke Ligong made a decision that went against the ancestors' wishes, which was to let his son take the surname Wang and continue the Wang family line."

"It was Comrade Ligong's decision that moved Old Wang to tears."

"Down there, for example, we might make fun of Comrade Ligong by saying he married into the family, but up in the Ministry of Metallurgy, no one would make fun of Comrade Ligong."

"I even admire Yang Ligong; not every man has the courage to do that."

"In addition, Comrade Li Gong is quite outstanding, otherwise the Ministry of Metallurgy would not have strongly recommended him to be the factory director, or even to be the top leader."

"That's the personal charisma of Comrade Li Gong. If he hadn't made a mistake along the way, he would be the secretary now."

The uncle and nephew listened with sighs, never expecting such a thing to happen. It seemed they had misunderstood Yang Ligong before.

He's still capable.

Li Huaide said:

"I see. I misunderstood Comrade Ligong. I thought he got his position because of his father-in-law."

Secretary Nie rolled her eyes at him:

"Of course he got his position because of his father-in-law. Even if Comrade Ligong is capable, it's not that easy for him to become the factory director. Wasn't it Old Wang who was plotting behind the scenes? You idiot."

Li Huaide fell silent; this old man was too infuriating.