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

At the entrance of a small conference room in a guesthouse, Li Jing'an stopped the Minister of Metallurgy, who had just finished a meeting and was walking out.

"Minister, do you have a moment? I'd like to say a few words to you." Li Jing'an quickly approached the minister.

"Oh, it's Jing'an. Hehe, okay, what's up? Is it about the house? Is there something you're unhappy about?" the minister asked with a smile.

"Hehe, Minister, I'm extremely satisfied with the house. You've taken such good care of me, even assigning me a good location. Thank you so much!" Li Jing'an thanked him repeatedly, then quickly added, "It's not about the house, it's about something else."

"Not a house? Just say so." The minister patted him on the shoulder, his tone still kind.

"It's like this, Minister. Our institute is organizing a badminton tournament today. The first day is the round of 16. Since you happen to be here for a meeting, we would like to ask you to come and make an appearance," Li Jing'an explained his purpose.

"Huh?" The minister hesitated for a moment upon hearing this.

The secretary who had been following behind immediately stepped forward to dissuade him: "Minister, this is not appropriate. You have a small meeting to attend back at the ministry, and you can't afford to be late. There's really no time."

Li Jing'an quickly replied, "It won't take you long. Just come and take a look, show your face, and that will boost our morale. Seeing that you're here will definitely lift everyone's spirits and morale."

The minister thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "I'll go take a look, but I can't stay too long; there are still meetings to attend in the ministry." After saying that, he instructed his secretary, "Go outside and get the car ready."

Li Jing'an readily agreed and led the minister toward the banquet hall, saying as they walked, "It won't take you long. Your presence is the greatest encouragement to our staff."

Upon arriving at the banquet hall entrance, a banner hung on the wall that read "Guesthouse Spring Badminton Tournament." Li Jing'an pushed open the banquet hall door, gestured for the minister to enter.

The match inside had already begun; the tables and chairs had been moved aside, leaving a large open space in the middle. Two young waiters were playing a game of badminton, their panting sounds audible even through the doorway.

On one side of the venue, a row of female waitresses in sportswear sat, all of whom were contestants who had not yet taken the stage; on the other side, there were two tables, clearly prepared specifically for the leaders.

"Come, come, please sit down." Li Jing'an led the minister to sit in the chair behind the table.

From the moment he entered, the minister's gaze never left the girls on the court. He had barely sat down when he saw a girl jump up, swing her racket, and land. The minister's head bobbed up and down with the movement, and he let out a soft exclamation of admiration.

Li Jing'an stood aside, watching this scene, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He turned and waved to Zhou Yufei, who was standing beside him, signaling her to come over. Upon seeing this, Zhou Yufei immediately brought over the tea and placed a cup for both the minister and Li Jing'an.

At the same time, Li Jing'an took out a cigarette from his pocket and offered it to the minister. However, the minister was too focused on the competition, and Li Jing'an paused for three seconds before realizing what was happening and quickly took the cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Li Jing'an lit a cigarette for him and said, "Minister, these players haven't practiced much. They all volunteered and are just playing around. I heard you're a badminton expert, so you should give them some pointers."

The minister didn't even turn to look at Li Jing'an, just waved casually, his eyes still fixed on the field, and said, "Hey, this is good enough. It's just an amateur activity, not a professional sport. You've done a great job."

As soon as he finished speaking, a player on the court jumped up and completed a smash. As he landed and swayed, the minister's heart also trembled, and he couldn't help but let out two exclamations of admiration.

Seeing the minister's absorbed expression, Li Jing'an exchanged a smile with Zhou Yufei beside him.

After watching the competition for a while, Li Jing'an had a general idea of ​​how much attention the minister paid to these athletes, but he wanted to confirm it again. After a moment, he beckoned Zhou Yufei closer, whispered a few words in her ear, and Zhou Yufei nodded silently after listening.

Afterwards, Zhou Yufei walked to the opposite side of the field and whispered a few words to each of the athletes waiting for their turn to compete.

In fact, what Li Jing'an instructed was nothing more than to finalize the advancing contestants and determine who would win and who would lose; he was secretly manipulating the outcome of the competition.

After the first match ended, the players in the second match were warming up. Li Jing'an was accompanying the minister, smoking and drinking tea, chatting and laughing. At this moment, the minister's secretary pushed open the door from outside, walked to the minister's side, bent down and whispered, "Sir, it's getting late, we should go back to the ministry, or we'll miss the meeting."

The minister's smile faded slightly. He glanced at his secretary and said impatiently, "What meeting? It's all the same old stuff. What's so important about it? Go to the guesthouse and make a phone call to cancel this afternoon's meeting."

The secretary was stunned, unable to believe her ears, and looked down to confirm: "Boss, you specifically instructed about this meeting a couple of days ago, saying it was a very important meeting, and that you've always attached great importance to it."

"Is the meeting important, but the competition isn't?" The minister raised his voice instantly. "Improving the quality of our citizens is a major issue that even our leaders are concerned about. Is this a trivial matter? Let me tell you, it's a top priority! We must not only defeat the West spiritually, but also surpass them physically!"

He looked at his secretary, sighed, shook his head, and said with deep disappointment, "You've been with me for so long, how come you don't even have this much political awareness?"

The secretary turned pale instantly after being reprimanded by the minister, and stood there helplessly, not daring to say another word.

Suddenly, a shot was hit from the sidelines, grazing the minister's face and flying past his head, startling everyone.

The secretary, who had been keeping a close eye on the minister's movements, immediately stepped forward, hoping to use this opportunity to salvage the awkwardness of being reprimanded earlier and to show his concern for his leader. He frowned and looked at Li Jing'an, saying, "Director Li, this seat is too close to the field; it's too dangerous. A slight mishap could easily injure the leader. How can this be allowed?"

Before Li Jing'an could respond, the minister suddenly slammed his hand on the table, his brow furrowed, and said sternly to his secretary, "What are you trying to do? What's wrong with this distance? I think it's too far! You're really something, always trying to separate me from the grassroots employees, always putting on airs, so out of touch with reality!"

Seeing this, Li Jing'an quickly stepped in to smooth things over, giving Zhou Yufei a wink so she could take her secretary to make the call, thus easing the secretary's embarrassment.

Not long after, the second match began. The minister immediately put the unpleasantness of the previous match behind him and focused intently on the game.

During a break in the competition, Li Jing'an explained the competition format to the minister: "Minister, today we only have four matches in the round of 16 to the quarterfinals. The day after tomorrow, we'll have the remaining four matches, followed by one day of the quarterfinals to the quarterfinals. The final day will determine the champion, runner-up, and third-place winner. If you have time, you're welcome to come and cheer on the athletes. If there's a time conflict, we can adjust the schedule to suit your availability."

The minister clicked his tongue and muttered, "There are only four games today, none tomorrow. We'll have to wait another day."

Li Jing'an didn't quite hear him and tentatively asked, "Minister, do you think the match has gone on for too long?"

The minister quickly waved his hand: "No, no, your arrangement is excellent. It doesn't take up too much time, nor does it interfere with work time. It balances the competition and work perfectly, which is very good."

"Thank you for recognizing my work, leader," Li Jing'an quickly thanked him, then brought up another matter, "By the way, Minister, our guesthouse plans to organize a meal in a private room at the restaurant after each competition. We don't have any extra rewards, so we're just expressing our gratitude with a simple meal. If it's convenient for you, we hope you can attend tonight and cheer on the athletes."

The minister turned to look at Li Jing'an with a broad smile, patted his arm, and laughed heartily, "Jing'an, it's only right. It's only natural to treat the athletes to dinner. Alright, I'll stay tonight to support your work and chat with the grassroots staff to get a feel for their daily lives and work."

"You really always think about us grassroots employees," Li Jing'an quickly flattered, then turned to Zhou Yufei and told her to hurry up and prepare the private room and notify the kitchen to arrange the dinner party that evening.