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

At the entrance of the First Guesthouse, Deputy Director Huang was directing the crowd to line up.

The early spring wind still carried a chill, rustling the branches of the two rows of old poplar trees by the entrance. The ground was paved with blue bricks, so clean it reflected the sky. Behind them stood a four-story Soviet-style building—this was the place specifically for receiving leaders and experts from the metallurgical system.

In front of the main entrance of the building, a gold-plated signboard reads "XX Steel Rolling Mill First Guesthouse," gleaming in the sunlight.

A short while later, the soft sound of a car engine approached from afar. A black Volga sedan slowly drove up.

Deputy Director Huang hurriedly jogged forward, respectfully opened the back door of the car, his movements were skilled and humble, and he even subconsciously bent his waist slightly.

Li Jing'an stepped out of the car, dressed in a well-fitting gray cadre uniform without a single wrinkle, his hair neatly combed, and a gentle smile on his face. He glanced at the lined-up crowd and said, "Old Huang, what are you doing? Everyone's busy working. It's during working hours; there's no need for this."

As he spoke, his gaze swept across the open space by the entrance, then looked at the cars parked not far away, and at the annex building connected to the side of the main building—the place where the metallurgical system organized large-scale meetings and banquets.

He spoke politely, but his smile grew even wider. He outwardly declined, but inwardly he was quite pleased.

"Since it's your first day in office, we should at least call all the key personnel in the institute to meet you and get to know them," Deputy Director Huang said with a smile, a thin layer of sweat beading on his forehead. He then led Li Jing'an to the front of the line. "Our institute has more than 150 people in total, and most of them are here today, except for those who are on duty."

He began the introductions one by one. Standing at the front of the line were the heads of various departments, including catering, housekeeping, and logistics, all dressed in neat uniforms with solemn expressions. Many of them were secretly observing the new director. Li Jing'an extended his hand to shake hands with each of them in greeting.

It wasn't until Deputy Director Huang introduced a woman, saying that she was the institute's secretary, that things changed.

Li Jing'an looked closely and recognized her as the woman who had come in when he had dinner with the former Director Lu. He had a deep impression of her—she was slender, and two features stood out particularly. Li Jing'an gently shook her hand, his fingertips touching her slightly cool palm, and his smile deepened.

Deputy Director Huang then introduced the office staff: accountant, cashier… followed by staff from the guest rooms, catering, front desk, and general support departments. Li Jing'an's gaze swept over the group of young and beautiful girls in the guest rooms, catering, and front desk. They wore uniform light blue work clothes, their hair neatly styled in buns, and their faces wore shy yet respectful smiles. He was quite satisfied, thinking to himself: I'm still late. With so many good girls, life at this guesthouse won't be boring from now on.

After shaking hands with everyone, Li Jing'an said to Deputy Director Huang, "Old Huang, let everyone go back to work. It's not good to be out during working hours. If word gets out, people will think our institute is engaging in formalism."

"Alright, alright, Director, please go first." Deputy Director Huang quickly responded, leading Li Jing'an towards the building, while waving to dismiss the crowd. The crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only a few soft footsteps.

Li Jing'an walked along, gazing at the four-story Soviet-style building before him. This was his second visit here, only a few days apart, yet his feelings were completely different. The last time, he was a guest, entering this building as a guest; this time, he was taking over. From now on, he would be in charge here. Thinking this, his steps became lighter, and a surge of pride welled up within him.

Old Huang explained that the guesthouse has more than 200 guest rooms: 16 suites for high-ranking officials, which are used to receive ministers, deputy ministers, and directors, all located on the third floor, with a private meeting room and a private bathroom; 40 single rooms, for section-level cadres, located on the second floor; 100 double rooms, for section-level personnel, located on the third and fourth floors; and 50 four-person rooms, for grassroots staff, accompanying personnel, and drivers.

Following Deputy Director Huang, Li Jing'an went straight to the director's office.

The office was located at the very back of the first floor—the front half of the first floor of the entire guesthouse consisted of the lobby and restaurant, while the innermost part was the office area. The walls of the corridor were painted snow-white, and a red banner that read "Serve the People" hung on the wall.

Upon entering, Li Jing'an frowned—the furniture inside was still left by his predecessor: a set of dark brown wooden tables and chairs, the paint somewhat peeling, and a few old files in the filing cabinet in the corner, exuding an air of decay. A faint smell of smoke and mildew lingered in the air, making him quite uncomfortable.

"Old Huang, Old Lu is under investigation. How can I use things he used? Wouldn't that be bad luck?" Li Jing'an's tone was displeased as his gaze swept over the old desk and chair. "Is this my office?"

"Yes, yes, this is your office. Please let me know if you need anything else." Deputy Director Huang immediately stepped forward to reply, bowing even lower, secretly regretting that he hadn't replaced the old furniture beforehand and had incurred the new director's wrath.

"Go, change to a brand new set right away." Li Jing'an pointed to the empty space by the door. "Put two potted plants here; it looks too ugly empty. Oh, and later send a car to my old office at the Second Guesthouse to fetch my photo frame and put it in this room." The photo frame contained a group photo of him with his superiors and certificates of merit, which were proof of his status and connections, and had to be placed in the most conspicuous position.

"Yes, yes, yes, I'll do it right away. Is there anything else you're not satisfied with?" Deputy Director Huang followed behind, bowing and scraping, his eyes scanning every corner of the office, afraid of missing anything. His notebook was already open, ready to take notes at any moment.

"What's the office next to mine for?" Li Jing'an asked, turning his head and looking towards the side door of the office.

"Oh, that's the archives room."

"Move the archives room, clean it up, seal off the outside door, and open a door from my office to turn it into a lounge." Li Jing'an's gaze fell on the window—he could see the steel rolling mill area behind the building, with towering chimneys emitting wisps of white smoke. "I've always considered my workplace my home, and I'll be staying here often from now on. Having a separate lounge will make it convenient for both work and rest, and it will also help avoid any appearance of impropriety."

"Okay, okay, I've got it." Deputy Director Huang quickly replied, his pen flying across the notebook. "Your dedication to the institute is something we should all learn from, but please take care of your health and don't work too late. The factory and department leaders are all hoping you'll manage the guesthouse well, so don't overwork yourself."

"Old Huang, you don't know, this is just my personality," Li Jing'an said seriously, glancing at the factory area outside the window. His tone was solemn. "I always put the interests of the country and the people first, and I hope..."

Halfway through her sentence, Li Jing'an suddenly remembered something and turned back: "By the way, how many vehicles does our motor pool have?"

"Director, the vehicle fleet has four vehicles in total: two Volga sedans and two jeeps, specifically for picking up and dropping off ministry leaders and senior experts. The drivers are all carefully selected, skilled, discreet, and absolutely reliable," Deputy Director Huang quickly reported, his voice tinged with respect.

Li Jing'an pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the several cars parked at the entrance, the dust still clinging to them: "We don't need so many. Take out a Volga and assign it a reliable driver. I'm busy with work and have a lot to do; I frequently travel to the ministry and various factories. This car will be my exclusive vehicle from now on. The rest of the vehicles will be centrally allocated, with priority given to higher-level leaders. All accompanying personnel will use jeeps; we can't break the rules."

Deputy Director Huang nodded repeatedly in agreement, adding a few more lines to his notebook. Li Jing'an was quite satisfied with his reaction; this Deputy Director Huang was sensible and obedient, and could be kept on temporarily.

"Okay, that's fine for now. I'll tell you if I remember anything else. You can go out now and let me get used to the surroundings in peace."

"Okay, Director, please go ahead and rest. I'll go and implement your instructions right away. I'll arrange everything—furniture, flowers, vehicle dispatch—to ensure your satisfaction." Deputy Director Huang hurried out of the office, afraid of delaying the new director's orders. He even closed the door gently as he left, not daring to make a sound.