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

Li Jing'an stood by the construction site, watching everyone dig for a while, when the roar of a car engine came from afar, coming in through the courtyard wall.

He turned his head at the sound and saw four cargo trucks driving into the backyard of the guesthouse one after another. The truck beds were full of neatly stacked bags of cement.

The first truck came to a smooth stop, and the passenger door swung open with a bang. Xu Damao nimbly jumped out of the truck. Once he was steady, he immediately spotted Li Jing'an standing by the mound of earth. His eyes lit up, and he quickly jogged over to him, a fawning smile on his face.

"Brother Li! Brother Li! The first batch of cement has all been delivered!"

Li Jing'an glanced at the truck full of cement bags, nodded slightly, and then turned to shout loudly to the workers who were still digging at the bottom of the pit.

"Stop what you're doing and get on the truck! Stop work and unload everything from the truck!"

Upon hearing the order, the workers at the bottom of the pit put down their shovels and picks, climbed out of the pit one by one, and crowded around the truck to prepare to unload the goods.

Li Jing'an turned to Xu Damao beside him and said in a deep voice, "Damao, you stay here and keep an eye on things. Watch the workers unload all the cement and arrange it neatly. Quickly find something to cover it up tightly and make sure it doesn't get wet in the rain. These are strategic materials for national defense; we can't be careless in the slightest."

"Understood, understood! Brother Li, you can rest assured, I will definitely handle this matter perfectly for you, without any mistakes!" Xu Damao nodded repeatedly in agreement, his attitude respectful and flattering.

Li Jing'an then asked, "Is this all that was hauled in this batch? How much is left?"

"Brother Li, we've only made one-sixth of the total. We can make another trip this afternoon," Xu Damao quickly replied truthfully.

"Alright." Li Jing'an pondered for a moment, "We'll have enough cement for the guesthouse in the next two days. As for the rest, you can lead the convoy and take it all to Zhangjia Village in Huairou."

Upon hearing this, Xu Damao immediately took half a step forward and cautiously began to speak:

"Huh? Brother Li, if we go to Huairou, it's a long way, and we can only make one round trip a day. It would take at least two days to haul the rest. Our factory's fleet here..."

Li Jing'an waved his hand:

"You don't need to worry about the team's affairs. I'll just call Team Leader Zhang in a bit to make arrangements. It's just a matter of one phone call."

"It's lunchtime now, so let's not make the drivers go back and forth for lunch. Go to the canteen and find Zhou Yufei. Tell her it's my idea to have the kitchen prepare a special meal to reward the hardworking drivers."

"You'll accompany them for this meal. Make sure they eat and drink well. Then go to the station's supply warehouse and get some cigarettes. Give each driver two packs a day; don't mistreat them."

Xu Damao immediately beamed and replied repeatedly, "Hey, hey, hey! Brother Li, don't worry! If I tell the other workers, they'll be overjoyed. Where else can they find a leader as considerate and thoughtful as you? In the entire steel rolling mill, which leader can compare to you even a fraction?"

"Alright, alright, enough with the flattery." Li Jing'an waved his hand, his expression calm. "I'm just putting myself in their shoes. Driving and hauling goods is their job, but we can't take their hard work for granted and just order them around at will."

"With the current policy in place, it's no longer acceptable to give cash bonuses privately. We can only offer more support in terms of food, drink, and hospitality."

"Also, absolutely no baijiu (Chinese liquor) at lunch. A little beer is enough. As for dinner tonight, you're in charge of entertaining them on my behalf. Make sure they drink well and enjoy themselves to the fullest. If you fail to entertain them properly and they don't have a good time, I'll hold you responsible."

"I understand, I understand! You can rest assured! I can't guarantee anything else, but when it comes to entertaining guests, I'll handle it perfectly, without a care in the world!" Xu Damao patted his chest and quickly agreed.

"Okay, then I'll leave the unloading of cement and guarding of supplies here to you. I'll head back to my office now."

After Li Jing'an finished speaking, he handed over all the affairs of the construction site to Xu Damao, and then turned around slowly, walking leisurely and calmly into the main hall of the guesthouse.

Before Li Jing'an even reached the main entrance of the guesthouse, he saw his secretary, Xiao Lin, rushing towards him, looking hurried and panting.

Li Jing'an immediately stopped, frowned, and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Xiao Lin quickly stepped forward, clutching an application form in his hand, and hurriedly replied:

"Hey Li, the logistics and materials department just called to ask if we filled in the wrong amount of steel bars for the air-raid shelter application. After checking, they said the number was obviously wrong, more than double the standard requirement for building an air-raid shelter, and it doesn't match the materials used in regular civil defense projects. They specifically called to ask if we filled in the wrong number when we submitted the application."

As Li Jing'an continued walking towards the main building, Xiao Lin quickly followed behind him, handing over the material application form in both hands.

Li Jing'an casually took the form, glanced at the list of steel bars and numbers, his expression completely unchanged, and then tossed the form back to Xiao Lin who was following behind him.

He continued walking without stopping, his tone tinged with displeasure, and gave the order:

"It's no big deal, why are you in such a hurry? The number is correct, that's exactly it. The shelter we're building is a high-standard, high-strength air-raid shelter, so using a lot of materials is only natural."

"When you get back, call the materials department directly and relay my message verbatim. Ask him directly: We reported the construction of the civil defense preparedness project according to high standards, so why is he repeatedly questioning and interrogating us? What is his stance on interfering in and questioning our air-raid shelter construction?"

"Ask him if he's deliberately nitpicking about the amount of materials used, is he trying to sabotage our civil defense preparedness project? Tell him that if he still has any questions, he doesn't need to call our guesthouse to ask for clarification. If he has any doubts, tell him to go directly to his section chief. If things still can't be resolved, tell him to go directly to Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide, who is in charge of logistics and is in charge of this civil defense project, for questioning."

As soon as I entered the guesthouse building and reached the stairwell, I saw Song Yun walking up the stairs from the basement.

When Song Yun looked up and bumped into him, she immediately stopped, smiled, and quickly walked over to greet him.

"Brother Li! Perfect timing, I was just about to come find you."

Li Jing'an turned his head, waved to his secretary Xiaolin beside him, and said indifferently, "You can go back and do your work first."

Kobayashi nodded in response and turned to walk away.

Li Jing'an stood quietly at the top of the stairs, waiting for Song Yun to come up step by step.

Song Yun approached, still a little unsteady on her feet, and quickly reported:

"Brother Li, the basement downstairs in our guesthouse is almost completely cleaned and tidied up now. We can finish the final touches today."

"Hmm." Li Jing'an nodded slightly and instructed in a deep voice, "Once everything is ready, set up storage shelves inside and level the ground. From now on, this entire basement will be used specifically for storing and stockpiling grains and vegetables."

"We cannot be careless in the slightest when it comes to moisture prevention, ventilation, and rodent control. We must absolutely not allow the stored supplies to get damp, moldy, rotten, or damaged, and we cannot afford to make any mistakes that would waste our strategic reserves."

Song Yun quickly replied, "Yes! Don't worry, Brother Li, I've been personally overseeing the entire process. I guarantee everything will be done perfectly and won't delay your business."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing'an immediately frowned and looked at him with a serious expression.

"What do you mean by my arrangement? This is not my private matter. This is a major national matter, a crucial matter for our factory's war preparedness, and a top priority in preparing for war and famine."

Song Yun panicked for a moment, immediately composed himself, and hurriedly bowed with a smile, respectfully making amends: "Yes, yes, yes! It's my fault for being clumsy with words and lacking awareness. I'll definitely be more careful in the future."

Li Jing'an stopped criticizing her and turned his gaze to Song Yun.

Her chest rose and fell slightly, and she spoke with obvious panting. Fine beads of sweat hung on her forehead, and dense sweat soaked her neck, which flowed down her neck in a thin stream, sliding down her loose collar and into her clothes.

Li Jing'an stared intently for a couple of seconds, then looked away and calmly instructed Song Yun:

"Alright, stop standing here chatting and reporting. Come to my office. I need to get to the bottom of this."

After saying that, he turned around and walked straight toward his director's office.