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

Guesthouse office.

Li Jing'an looked up at Xu Damao, his tone tinged with impatience: "Damao, go out and send Liu Haizhong away. This Liu Haizhong, he comes here to see me without any regard for the occasion, what could he possibly want?"

He secretly pondered: He didn't need Liu Haizhong anymore; this guy's arrival was incredibly tactless. Li Jing'an knew Liu Haizhong's intentions—he was simply restless because Xu Damao had been transferred to his side and had a bright future. But didn't he consider what Liu Haizhong could do for him? He wasn't quick-witted and inefficient. Li Jing'an wouldn't incur favors for him. Now that he was of a higher rank, favors weren't cheap; he wasn't going to waste them on Liu Haizhong.

"Okay, Brother Li, I'll go right away." Xu Damao agreed readily, the corners of his mouth already curling up unconsciously, his words carrying a hint of schadenfreude, "That Liu Haizhong is really brainless, running here during work hours, doesn't he understand that the boss is busy with so many things all day long, how could he have time for his little schemes? Don't worry, I'll go and get rid of him right away, so he won't get in your way anymore."

He then changed the subject, trying to sow discord between Liu Haizhong and Liu Haizhong, his words as sweet as honey: "You know, Liu Haizhong is simple-minded and clumsy with words. Not only does he easily offend people, but if you really entrust him with something, he'll probably ruin the leader's plans. It's best for everyone to stay away from people like that."

Xu Damao still remembers Liu Haizhong's face at the conference a few days ago. He's been holding onto this anger for a long time and isn't going to let it go easily.

Li Jing'an waved his hand, too lazy to listen anymore. Xu Damao understood, and cheerfully left the office, striding across the corridor, pushing open the door to the guesthouse entrance, where he saw Liu Haizhong being stopped by the gatekeeper.

Liu Haizhong was craning his neck to peer inside, looking like an old goose trapped outside a fence. He hadn't seen Li Jing'an in the courtyard for the past two days—Li Jing'an hadn't gone back to his residence at all, staying at the guesthouse the whole time. He couldn't sit still any longer, so he came early this morning to pledge his loyalty. But didn't he realize that besides this "loyalty," what else could he offer? Li Jing'an now guarded the vast First Guesthouse; why would he care about his paltry sum?

Xu Damao shoved his hands into his pockets, grinned, and strolled up to the gatekeeper. He gestured with his chin toward Liu Haizhong and said, "Liu Haizhong, Director Li just told me to tell you—if there's anything important, tell me and I'll pass it on; if there's nothing else, hurry back to the steel mill and don't neglect your work. Director Li also said that as a worker, you should focus on your work and not think about these trivial matters all the time."

As he spoke, he took a half-step forward, lowered his voice, and his tone revealed an undisguised contempt: "Don't you even know what else you can do besides fiddling with metal parts? Huh? What can you do?"

Liu Haizhong's expression immediately changed, his eyes widened, and his voice tightened: "You... did Li Jing'an say this? Li Jing'an?"

Xu Damao's eyes darted around, and his smile deepened: "This wasn't what Director Li said himself, but it's his intention. I was afraid you wouldn't understand, so I'm explaining it to you clearly."

He watched Liu Haizhong's face turn from red to a deep purplish-red, and felt a surge of satisfaction. The image of Liu Haizhong's smug, almost convincing, face at the conference a few days ago was still vivid in his mind—and now? Serves him right! He's fallen into my hands now, isn't he?

Xu Damao felt completely at ease. He quickly composed himself, adopting a sincere demeanor, and lowered his voice, saying, "Second Uncle, you should go back to the factory and get back to work. What you're doing will only annoy Director Li. How about this—you know I'm in external liaison now, dealing with factory leaders all day. Next time I have dinner with your workshop director, I'll put in a good word for you. You don't need to trouble Director Li with this; I can handle it for you. If you're really interested, bring a couple of dishes tonight and we can have a good chat."

Liu Haizhong stared at Xu Damao's smug face, feeling a tightness in his chest, making it hard to breathe. He snorted, his face turning ashen, and turned to leave.

Behind him, Xu Damao wasn't about to let him off the hook, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Second Uncle, I'll be waiting for you tonight! See you there! Oh, by the way, I saw you bought chickens again. Bring them over, I really like Second Uncle's chickens!"

Watching Liu Haizhong's figure quicken and quicken until he almost jogged, he finally couldn't help but chuckle, slamming his hands down and shouting, "Awesome!"

---

No sooner had Xu Damao left than another group of people arrived at Li Jing'an's office.

The head chef led a middle-aged couple into the room; they were the parents of the chef who had stolen things yesterday. As soon as they entered, the two knelt down before Li Jing'an with a thud, and the woman began to cry.

"Hey, what's going on? Get up, get up right now!"

Li Jing'an quickly stood up from behind his desk, walked over in a few steps, gestured for the head chef to lend a hand, and bent down to help his parents up. His parents were helped up, but they were still unsteady on their feet. The woman leaned on the man and wiped away her tears, while the man also looked distressed, his lips trembling as he couldn't speak.

"Director Li, please... please have mercy," the man finally managed to say, his voice hoarse as if he had sand in his throat. "The child is young and doesn't know any better. We know we were wrong, please... please let him go..."

The woman also cried, "He was just confused for a moment, he's not that kind of person, Chief Li..."

Li Jing'an led them to sit on the sofa, his expression softening and his tone becoming gentle: "Don't cry, listen to me for a moment."

He paused, carefully choosing his words: "The factory will investigate. If he only took some things and nothing else—after all, he's the head chef's apprentice, so I think he'll be treated leniently. Just go home and wait for the results."

His parents wanted to say something more, but Li Jing'an stopped them by raising his hand. He offered a few more words of comfort and then gestured for the head chef to lead them out. The head chef helped the couple out while whispering words of reassurance, and it was only with great difficulty that they were persuaded to leave.

A moment later, the head chef returned, standing at the door rubbing his hands, looking apologetic: "I'm sorry, Director Li, I had no choice. He's still my apprentice, after all. His parents were crying at my house all night, and I really... really had no other choice but to bring them here today."

Li Jing'an waved his hand, his face revealing no emotion: "Oh, it's nothing, it's only human nature."

Seeing that his expression had softened, the head chef tentatively began, "Um... Director Li, my apprentice, he..."

Li Jing'an raised his hand to interrupt him, his tone not harsh, but carrying an uncompromising tone: "Don't worry, if there's nothing else, I'll definitely go easy on him for your sake. Even if something really happens to him—don't worry, I have high hopes for you and won't implicate you."

Upon hearing this, the head chef's awkwardness vanished, and he nodded repeatedly, his voice even brightening: "Thank you, Director Li! Thank you, Director Li!"

"Alright, alright, no need for that," Li Jing'an smiled and waved his hand, "Go back quickly, the kitchen is quite busy, we can't do without you."

"Okay, okay, Director Li, I'll get back to work now, I'm off to work." The head chef said as he backed away, making sure to close the door gently behind him as he left.

---

When Xu Damao pushed the door open and came in, the smile on his face hadn't completely faded.

"Hehe, Brother Li, I've already gotten rid of Liu Haizhong." He leaned closer to the desk, his tone tinged with a desire to take credit. "That Liu Haizhong was really stubborn, insisting on waiting for you at the door. It took me a lot of effort to get rid of him."

Li Jing'an raised his eyelids slightly and gave a nonchalant "hmm": "Alright, alright, I understand. I have something to tell you."

Xu Damao immediately straightened his expression and leaned forward: "Go ahead, Brother Li, I'm listening."

"Next time you go to the ministry for external liaison," Li Jing'an tapped his fingers lightly on the table, looking at him meaningfully, "try to subtly find out the minister's preferences. The clearer the better."

Xu Damao's eyes darted around, and he understood immediately. He nodded repeatedly, "Okay, okay, Brother Li, don't worry, I'll definitely keep this in mind."

"Alright, get out of here and go do what you're supposed to do."

"Hehe, you're busy, you're busy," Xu Damao replied, happily making his way out.

After the door closed, Li Jing'an didn't stop. He sat in the chair for a moment, pondered for a while, then reached for the phone on the table and dialed a number.

It's always good to be prepared for these kinds of things.