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

As night deepened, the streetlights cast a dim, yellowish glow in front of the guesthouse. Several cars were parked quietly in the courtyard.

Li Jing'an and Wei Jialing were personally seeing off their guests at the door—this banquet was specially arranged by Li Jing'an to celebrate the promotions of the two leaders from the Second Commerce Bureau and the Labor Bureau.

Sun Mingyuan of the Second Bureau of Commerce was in the limelight tonight, having just been promoted from deputy director to director.

Although Deputy Director Wang of the Labor Bureau did not lose the title of "Deputy," his ranking has been significantly improved. He has completely escaped the marginal situation where he was previously marginalized by the director and was essentially a figurehead. Now he holds real power, is in charge of real projects, and has become a truly influential and respected figure in the bureau.

In fact, Li Jing'an's original core target for this banquet was only Sun Mingyuan.

Sun Mingyuan's smooth rise to the position of bureau chief was entirely due to Li Jing'an's mediation. During this period, Li Jing'an personally took Sun Mingyuan to his father-in-law, Director Wei's, home more than once to report on work and smooth things over.

As for Deputy Director Wang, he himself didn't know the reason. He thought it was because Li Jing'an spoke up for him to his father-in-law.

Two days ago, Deputy Director Wang even brought a generous gift to express his gratitude. Although Li Jing'an hadn't done anything, he accepted the gift without hesitation. Tonight, he specially invited him over, both to give him face and to further strengthen their relationship. Li Jing'an also specially invited his father-in-law's secretary, Han, to accompany them, showing that he was being considerate in every way.

The car doors closed one by one, and the engine started smoothly.

Li Jing'an and Wei Jialing smiled and waved, watching Secretary Han and Sun Mingyuan's cars drive out of sight one after the other, turn the street corner, and disappear completely into the night.

Deputy Director Wang did not get into the car and leave, but instead stood there waiting.

Once they were alone, he quickly stepped forward, grasped Li Jing'an's hand tightly, and said with great emotion and barely suppressed gratitude, "Comrade Li, thank you so much! From now on, if you have any requests, just say the word, and I, Wang, will answer without hesitation!"

Li Jing'an feigned displeasure, patted his arm lightly, and said in a familiar and friendly tone, "Old Wang, we're already this close, it's too formal to keep calling me 'Comrade Li.' Just call me Jing'an."

Deputy Director Wang nodded repeatedly, his face beaming with even greater joy. He seemed almost giddy, as if still basking in the happiness of his promotion: "Good, good, good! I won't say any more pleasantries. Just watch my actions from now on! Also, please be sure to convey my gratitude to Leader Wei. Thank you so much for thinking so highly of me and promoting me."

Li Jing'an quickly waved his hand, his expression becoming slightly serious: "Old Wang, you can't say things like that carelessly. If my father hears this, he'll definitely be angry and criticize me. We should all be grateful to the organization for nurturing us so that we have the positions we have today."

This statement, though seemingly critical, is actually a reminder that some things are best left unsaid and cannot be discussed openly.

Deputy Director Wang immediately understood and nodded in agreement, "Yes, yes, you're right! Thank you to the organization, thank you to the Party!"

"Alright, it's getting late, you should go back and get some rest too," Li Jing'an urged with a smile.

"Okay, Jing'an! Just let me know if you need anything!"

Deputy Director Wang thanked him repeatedly before reluctantly getting into the car, which slowly drove away.

Only after the person was completely out of sight did Li Jing'an turn his gaze away and wave to someone not far away.

Xu Damao, who had been waiting at the door, immediately stepped forward, bowing slightly, his attitude extremely respectful: "Brother Li, what are your orders?"

"Go to the restaurant and find Zhou Yufei. Take stock of the remaining ingredients and supplies for tonight. I don't have any banquets planned for the next couple of days, so pick out the best and most suitable ones and send them to my parents' house first. Have the head chef distribute the remaining vegetables and fruits to the kitchen staff; you can take your own chicken, duck, fish, and meat. Oh, and keep a separate portion for the accountant, Xiaolin."

"Okay, Brother Li! Thank you for remembering us. I'll get on it right away!"

Xu Damao was overjoyed and quickly agreed, then turned to leave.

Just then, Wei Jialing, who was standing to the side, suddenly spoke softly, interrupting him: "Wait."

Xu Damao immediately stopped and looked at Wei Jialing respectfully.

Wei Jialing added calmly and naturally, "Don't forget to give Huai Ru a share too, after all, she cleans the house for us all day long."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing'an nodded slightly and said to Xu Damao, "Do as Jialing said, and leave a copy for Qin Huairu as well. Go and do it."

"Understood! I'll arrange it right away, I guarantee it'll be done perfectly!"

Xu Damao readily agreed and quickly walked towards the restaurant.

In the kitchen and storage room of the guesthouse restaurant, there were still many ingredients that hadn't been used that night.

The courtyard house, at the entrance of the Jia family's residence.

Xu Damao saw that the light was still on inside, raised his hand and knocked on the door, calling out, "Sister Qin! Sister Qin!"

A moment later, the door creaked open.

Qin Huairu came out of the house and saw Xu Damao standing outside the door. A look of doubt appeared on her face: "Oh, Damao, what's up so late?"

Xu Damao, with a warm smile on his face, didn't beat around the bush and directly handed over the cloth bag he was carrying: "Hehe, Sister Qin, take this."

Qin Huairu reached out and took it, clearly feeling its considerable weight. She was even more puzzled and quickly asked, "What's inside?"

Xu Damao lowered his voice and explained with a smile, "You know it's all because of that new college student Wang Defa. He ordered way too many supplies. Brother Li was worried they'd go bad, so he specifically told us to share them among ourselves. This is your portion, a piece of top-quality pork."

"I know, I know, I've heard about it." Qin Huairu nodded quickly. Upon hearing this, she instantly beamed with joy, her face full of undisguised happiness, and thanked Xu Damao repeatedly.

While the two were talking, Jia Zhangshi, who was inside the house, heard the noise and came out by lifting the curtain.

She glanced at Xu Damao, then at the cloth bag in Qin Huairu's hand, and casually asked, "Hey, Damao, what brings you here so late?"

"Aunt Jia," Xu Damao quickly greeted her, pointing to the cloth bag in Qin Huairu's hand, "Here's something for you, Aunt Jia. This is a perk that Brother Li gave us, and he specially saved it for Sister Qin."

Upon hearing that it was from Li Jing'an, Jia Zhangshi's eyes immediately lit up, and she beamed with joy, unable to stop smiling: "Oh, Li Jing'an is such a good person. He remembers us even when he gets something good. He's a leader, so thoughtful."

"That's right." Xu Damao responded, then, as if suddenly remembering something, pulled out a tied-up old hen from behind him and handed it to the two of them. "Oh, and this too."

The old hen had bright, shiny feathers and looked quite robust. It flapped its wings and let out a few low clucks.

"This is a hen I specially picked for you, a proper old hen, and it still lays eggs. I picked out two in total, one for your family and one for myself."

Madam Jia's eyes widened instantly, her smile deepening. She quickly reached out and snatched the egg, holding it close to her chest with obvious delight, praising it repeatedly: "Oh, Da Mao, you've really thought of everything! This is perfect, take it home and raise it, then you'll have eggs to eat every day. You're so clever, Da Mao!"

After saying that, she picked up the old hen, turned around and hurriedly walked towards the kitchen, muttering, "Tie it up here for now. Tomorrow I'll find something to build a chicken coop. I can't let it run away."

Seeing Jia Zhangshi's overjoyed expression, Xu Damao smiled smugly, then turned to Qin Huairu and whispered mysteriously, "Sister Qin, I've already sounded out Brother Li today."

Qin Huairu raised her eyebrows slightly, signaling him to continue.

"Brother Li plans to move Wang Defa to the guest room department first." Xu Damao lowered his voice even further, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "You may not know this, but this Wang Defa has really offended Brother Li."

Xu Damao deliberately stopped there, not going into any further details.

Qin Huairu nodded slightly, her face showing no extra expression, but she already understood.