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

The two-day meeting concluded successfully thanks to Li Jing'an's overall coordination and support. All the leaders left satisfied, and all the work at the guesthouse was completed smoothly. After seeing off the last group of guests, Li Jing'an immediately gathered the guesthouse's core staff together, intending to treat them to a good meal for their hard work over the past few days.

Inside the guesthouse's private room, Li Jing'an sat in the main seat, flanked by Lao Huang, Zhou Yufei, Xu Damao, Qin Huairu, and the head chef from the kitchen. The atmosphere was relaxed and pleasant.

Li Jing'an picked up his wine glass, stood up, and glanced at everyone present. His tone was sincere: "Come on, everyone has worked so hard these past two days, running around without complaint. I'd like to toast you all!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Old Huang stood up immediately, his face quickly plastered with a respectful smile, and hurriedly said, "Chief, you're too kind! You're the one who's worked the hardest, coordinating everything, managing everything from top to bottom. We've only done our jobs, talking and running errands; how can we compare to you? I propose we all toast the Chief!"

Upon hearing this, everyone stood up and echoed, nodding in agreement. Xu Damao, standing to the side, glanced at Lao Huang and muttered to himself: Goodness, this guy's flattery skills are even better than mine. He's really hiding his true abilities.

Looking at the scene before him, Li Jing'an was quite satisfied with Lao Huang. Initially, Li Jing'an had considered finding an opportunity to transfer him, but after working together for the past two days, he discovered that Lao Huang was not only reliable and capable, but also possessed extremely high emotional intelligence, knew how to read people, and always stepped up in crucial moments. Now, he completely changed his mind and planned to bring Lao Huang and the head chef into his inner circle, to cultivate them properly. The head chef was also a shrewd man; since Li Jing'an took office, he had been wholeheartedly trying to align himself with him.

As everyone was raising their glasses in a toast and chatting happily, a noisy commotion suddenly broke out outside the private room.

Old Huang immediately put down his wine glass, stood up and respectfully said to Li Jing'an, "Chief, I'll go out and see what's going on, so as not to disturb everyone's enjoyment."

Li Jing'an nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "Yes, go and see what's going on."

Old Huang strode out of the private room, but soon returned, looking at Li Jing'an with some hesitation: "Chief, the gatekeeper caught someone in the kitchen secretly bringing things home from the kitchen."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing'an frowned slightly, thinking to himself: It's nothing more than secretly taking some leftovers like Sha Zhu did, it's just a trivial matter. I wonder who the gatekeeper is, that he has to make such a fuss over such a small thing.

Thinking of this, Li Jing'an waved his hand casually, "This is a small matter, you can handle it with the head chef and Zhou Yufei, there's no need to ask me."

"Director, you should go and see for yourself," Old Huang hesitated for a moment, but finally advised.

Li Jing'an glanced at Lao Huang, somewhat puzzled: It's just bringing some vegetables, why do I have to go see them myself? He finally stood up.

Xu Damao, Qin Huairu, and the others in the private room also got up and followed them out.

The group arrived at the open space in front of the kitchen, where they found it already crowded with people—the chefs and helpers from the kitchen, the restaurant staff, and the housekeeping personnel, all gathered to watch the spectacle, forming a dense crowd that completely blocked the two people in the middle.

"Make way! The director is here!" Old Huang stepped forward and shouted to disperse the crowd. The onlookers quickly made way, and Li Jing'an was able to see the situation clearly.

The gatekeeper, Xu Wangshu, was seen gripping a young man's arm tightly, his expression serious. On the ground lay an open canvas bag, with a whole fresh pig's hind leg sticking out, plump and strong, weighing over twenty pounds.

Seeing this, Li Jing'an's pupils contracted slightly, and he immediately felt a surge of anger. He had originally thought it was just some leftovers, but he hadn't expected this young man to be so bold as to steal an entire pig's hind leg.

"Good heavens, why don't you just empty the entire kitchen?" Li Jing'an suppressed his anger and looked at the young man, his tone icy.

The young man, his arm held by Xu Wangshu, kept his head down and remained silent. At this moment, the head chef hurriedly stepped forward and said apologetically to Li Jing'an, "Director, I'm so sorry, this is my apprentice. I failed to discipline him properly; I never imagined he would do something so petty. I bear the responsibility!"

Having said that, the head chef turned around and angrily rebuked his apprentice: "What are you all standing there for? Quickly tell the director the truth and explain the whole story!"

The young man, after being yelled at by his master, finally spoke haltingly, his voice barely audible: "This...this meat is leftover from the meeting...I thought since it's already been recorded, it wouldn't be a problem for me to take it...it's all going to be used up anyway, and I managed to save it by my own skill while cooking..."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing'an's anger flared even more: these remaining supplies were now all the property of the guesthouse, and this young man was blatantly appropriating his belongings, and even speaking so confidently! It was simply outrageous.

Pointing at the young man, Li Jing'an angrily rebuked him, "You're undermining socialism! You're a parasite on society! Disregarding rules and acting recklessly, you must be dealt with seriously and without leniency!"

The young man trembled at Li Jing'an's imposing manner, then immediately raised his head defiantly and retorted, "I was just taking some of your cadres' leftovers, how did that become undermining socialism?"

"What are you saying?" Li Jing'an pressed on, his tone growing increasingly stern. "The cadres work hard for the country's development and for the people to live a better life! Without our diligent efforts to safeguard the collective interests and for the country's steady development, could you be enjoying your current peaceful lives?"

"What good days? I think all the good days are enjoyed by you cadres! We ordinary workers have a hard time at all!" The young man shouted out in a moment of impulse.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the surrounding employees changed drastically, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

Li Jing'an's eyes instantly turned cold, his gaze fixed intently on the young man, his tone stern and chilling: "What do you mean by that? What are you trying to say? What are you implying? What are your motives? I don't think this is simply stealing collective property; you're harboring resentment towards our cadre team, and even more so, resentment towards the Party and the socialist system! I'd like to ask you, is there someone behind you directing you?"

After saying that, Li Jing'an deliberately raised his eyes and swept them around the crowd of onlookers. Wherever his gaze fell, the employees lowered their heads and avoided his eyes. No one dared to meet his gaze. The scene was deathly silent; even breathing could be heard clearly.

The young man was so frightened by Li Jing'an's barrage of questions that he turned pale, his body went limp, and he was completely stunned, unable to utter a single word in rebuttal. He never imagined that his impulsive words would be escalated to such a serious level.

Seeing this, the head chef was terrified. He stepped forward, raised his hand, and slapped his apprentice across the face, his voice trembling as he angrily shouted, "What nonsense are you spouting? Have you lost your mind? How dare you say such blasphemous things! I think you don't want to live anymore!"

As the head chef raised his hand to slap the chef a second time, Li Jing'an immediately stopped him, saying, "That's enough!"

The head chef's hand froze in mid-air. He quickly stopped what he was doing, lowered his head, and dared not utter a sound.

Li Jing'an stopped looking at the trembling young man, turned to Old Huang beside him, and said in a cold and decisive tone: "Call the factory's security department immediately and have them send someone over to detain this man and await further instructions! We'll discuss how to handle him tomorrow morning."

Old Huang didn't dare delay for a moment and quickly replied, "Yes, Chief! I'll take care of it right away!"

The surrounding employees, witnessing the scene before them, all fell silent, trembling with fear.