I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

Li Jing'an rode his bicycle back to the steel rolling mill's second guesthouse. It was only a hundred meters from the office building, and next to it were the workers' club and the bathhouse. A ring of buildings surrounded the factory's administrative and welfare area.

Since it's called the "Second Guesthouse," there's naturally also a First Guesthouse. The two have a clear division of labor: one is for external use, and the other is for internal use. The Second Guesthouse is specifically set up for internal staff and their families.

Li Jing'an made several trips to his former superior to secure this position, and waited for more than two months before finally taking office last week.

In a few years, the atmosphere will change, and this position is just right—not at the center of the stage, but allowing him to steadily cultivate his network of relationships. In his eyes, relationships and power are equal, and even interconnected.

The guesthouse is a three-story building with the main entrance on the side.

The two lower floors each have fifteen guest rooms, each with four beds. Excluding the two rooms occupied by the duty room and the rest room, there is still room for 112 people. Each floor is equipped with a public toilet.

The third floor is actually an attic, about forty square meters, which has been divided into an office and a toilet.

Next to the guesthouse is the third canteen, which Sha Zhu and his group are in charge of.

Upon entering the guesthouse, the first room is the duty room. A window is located on the wall facing the corridor, used for registration, key retrieval, and hot water refills. The second room is the staff rest room, where staff on night shifts can take turns resting.

"Director!" A young waiter in his twenties saw Li Jing'an in the duty room and quickly stood up to greet him.

Li Jing'an nodded, his gaze sweeping over the other two waiters beside her, thinking to himself, "I'll have to replace you sooner or later, you have no sense at all."

"Thirty technicians from the branch factory are coming this afternoon. Arrange for them all to work on the second floor. Here is the list." Li Jing'an handed over a piece of paper and then turned and went up to his office on the third floor.

A short while later, the waiter who had greeted them earlier followed them with a thermos.

"Oh, so they're rushing off to flatter again," a waiter said sarcastically, pursing his lips.

"Young people are quick-witted, so if she doesn't improve, who will?" another chimed in.

On the third floor, Li Jing'an had just settled into a chair when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The person who opened the door was Wang Caixia, the waitress who had spoken to her earlier. "Director, I'd like to refill your water bottle." She put down the thermos, glanced around the room, and picked up a broom. "I can sweep the floor too."

"Okay, then I'll trouble you." Li Jing'an looked at her and said with a smile.

Wang Caixia was the person Li Jing'an had considered last night. Twenty-six years old, a level nine waitress, she was good-looking, with a pleasing oval face, and petite yet voluptuous, standing under 1.6 meters tall. Since Li Jing'an took office, she had come every morning to change the water and clean.

She was so diligent, naturally wanting to leave a good impression.

She's still young and hopes to be promoted soon—she's already had enough seniority, and if the factory gives her a spot and she gets a recommendation from a leader, she can move up a level.

There are no hard and fast standards for how well a waitress performs; the manager's evaluation is crucial. She didn't want to just wait around like other waitresses, accumulating seniority and waiting in line on a first-come, first-served basis; she wanted to take a shortcut to success.

Li Jing'an, of course, saw through her thoughts. He was about to take her into his own ranks—after all, she was the first person to take the initiative to approach him.

"Caixia, don't be busy. Sit down, I need to talk to you about something." Li Jing'an stood up, pointed to the sofa opposite him, then walked to the door and gently bolted it.

"Director..." Wang Caixia was flustered and stood by the sofa, at a loss.

"Hehe, let's talk about something. Don't just stand there, sit down." Li Jing'an walked over, gently pressed her shoulder to make her sit down, and then sat down next to her.

"Caixia, I've seen everything you've done, very good." He said, his arm naturally reaching behind her to put his arm around her shoulder, while his other hand held her hand that was resting on her lap.

"Director..." Wang Caixia tried to break free, but dared not use force.

"Call me Brother Li. When there are no outsiders, just call me Brother Li." Li Jing'an tightened his grip on Li Jing'an's hand.

"I'm new to the guesthouse too, and I don't have anyone of my own around. As long as you stick close to your brother Li, I'll promote you to foreman right away, and give you an extra two yuan a month." Feeling that Wang Caixia's body was gradually becoming less stiff, he continued, "Don't worry, as soon as there are any promotion opportunities in the factory, I'll nominate you first."

His hand touched her face, gently turning her face towards him.

"Tell me, do you want to work with me?"

Wang Caixia nodded almost imperceptibly, letting out a soft "hmm" that was barely audible.

"I didn't hear you clearly. Want to work for me?"

"think."

"What are you thinking about?"

"I want to work with you, brother," Wang Caixia said softly with her eyes closed.

"Haha." Li Jing'an chuckled, then suddenly pressed her back and leaned down on her. He was over 1.8 meters tall and quite strong, almost completely covering the petite Wang Caixia.

"Brother Li, no... there's someone here, I'm scared." Wang Caixia's panicked voice came from beneath him.

"It's alright, I've locked the door. No one will come up except for you waitresses." His voice deepened. "If anyone dares to knock, I'll have her transferred immediately."

After a suppressed groan, only intermittent sobs and heavy breathing remained in the room.

In the duty room on the first floor, two waiters, one fat and one thin, were huddled together talking in hushed tones.

The fat guy nudged his companion with his elbow and whispered, "Hey, do you think those two will end up together?"

"Is that even a question?" The skinny man curled his lip, his face full of disdain. "Look at how eager Wang Caixia is. If Director Li just beckons with his finger, she'll obediently take off her pants."

"I think so too," the fat man immediately chimed in, his eyes narrowing into slits. "I've known it for a long time, she's just a slut."

The skinny one suddenly raised his index finger: "Shh—listen, isn't there some noise?"

"There's no sound. You must have misheard."

The thin man listened intently, then tugged at the fat man's sleeve: "There really is a sound, listen carefully."

The fat man stopped what he was doing and listened intently: "Oh, there really is... the sound of clapping, it sounds like it's coming from the stairs."

"I wonder which room upstairs has a lunatic living there, clapping in broad daylight." The skinny guy rolled his eyes.

"Who cares?" The skinny guy waved his hand, then asked, "Do you think the cafeteria will have meat dishes for lunch today?"

"Probably not." The fat guy scoffed. "I don't know what the cafeteria manager is doing; we haven't seen any oil or grease in almost a month."

Ignoring the intermittent noises from upstairs, the two continued chatting about lunch, their heads close together.