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

A jeep was slowly driving through the steel rolling mill's premises, heading straight for the main office building. Inside the vehicle, Wang Manqi's father cautiously turned to a young man beside him and whispered, "Director, is it too little for us to bring just two cartons of cigarettes?"

"Hey, Lao Wang, what's wrong with you? Don't you believe me or what?" the young man scolded impatiently. "If you don't believe me, we're turning back right now! Let me tell you, if it weren't for the fact that you used to mentor me, I wouldn't have come here today, much less bother with your family's mess!"

Wang Manqi's father could only nod and bow repeatedly, forcing a smile as he said, "Yes, yes, the director is right, I understand." But in his heart, he sighed: Sigh, I hope it will work.

These past two days, his daughter, Wang Manqi, has looked terribly haggard and barely speaks. As her father, he could tell at a glance that his daughter was having a hard time at the factory. To help her, he bought some gifts yesterday and visited the home of the director of the Revolutionary Committee at the East Suburbs Railway Station. He had originally planned to go directly to the steel mill, but he didn't know Li Jing'an, the director of the Revolutionary Committee there, and was afraid he wouldn't even be able to get through the gate.

Then he remembered Director Han of the Revolutionary Committee at their train station. All the steel mill's industrial products were shipped from their station, so Director Han's words should carry weight. Even more coincidentally, Director Han happened to be his former apprentice. Since Director Han gained power and became the director of the Revolutionary Committee, Wang Manqi's father had remained a stable minor leader, all thanks to this apprentice.

But after gaining power, the apprentice developed a perverse sense of humor. He enjoyed watching his master act subservient and would occasionally reprimand him, finding pleasure in doing so.

Yesterday at Director Han's house, Wang Manqi's father pleaded for a long time before Director Han reluctantly agreed to come and "mediate." In Director Han's words, it wasn't really a plea, just a matter of speaking to the steel rolling mill. Originally, Director Han wanted to make a phone call directly, but Wang Manqi's father stopped him, so he reluctantly went along on this trip.

"Hey Lao Wang, I'm not trying to be mean," the young man said, crossing his legs, continuing his lecture, "you're always so timid and hesitant, you'll never amount to anything! If it weren't for our past relationship, and the fact that you used to treat me fairly well, you'd be stuck in some ditch by now! For something like this, we could have just notified the steel mill directly. The fact that we even came is already a huge favor! And you brought things? Humph, don't you even remember that all their goods come from our station? You really can't tell the difference between a big and small boss!"

"Yes, yes, the director is right." Wang Manqi's father quickly echoed, then forced himself to explain, "But director, the main thing is that my daughter will be working here in the future, and I'm worried that it will be difficult to speak properly. It's always good to be polite."

"Where's Manqi? It's been so long since I've seen her. I really miss her." Mentioning Wang Manqi, the young director's eyes lit up, and his voice rose several octaves, clearly indicating he had a deep impression of her. "Hey Lao Wang, when you came to my house yesterday, why didn't you invite Manqi along?"

"Well... Director, the main problem is that Manqi hasn't been in a good state of mind these past few days. She's been troubled by things at the factory, and when she gets home, she just locks herself in her room and won't go out. I was so worried that I came to you for help. If you're not worried, I'll definitely treat you to a meal after this is done, and Manqi will offer you a toast to thank you properly."

"Hmph, that's more like it."

"Screech—" The jeep came to a steady stop in front of the steel rolling mill office building.

Secretary Xiaolin opened the door and ushered the two men into Li Jing'an's office. Upon seeing them, Li Jing'an immediately stood up from behind his desk and greeted them, "Hello, comrades. I am Li Jing'an, the director of the Revolutionary Committee of the steel rolling mill. I heard from the gatekeeper that you are comrades from the train station. Please, have a seat."

Xiao Lin quickly poured the tea and stepped aside. Li Jing'an took out cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to each of them.

The young director casually took it with one hand and put it directly in his mouth. The middle-aged man, on the other hand, bowed respectfully, took it with both hands, and thanked him repeatedly.

Seeing the young man's behavior, Li Jing'an frowned slightly, suppressing his impatience—after all, he still didn't know the background or purpose of these two. He lit a cigarette, and the middle-aged man, seeing this, quickly got up and went over to light it for the young man before lighting his own.

The young man lit the cigarette without even lowering his head or holding it up.

Li Jing'an cursed inwardly: "Damn it, who is this? Acting so arrogantly?"

But he still had a smile on his face and asked, "The security guard just told me you two are from the East Suburbs Railway Station. Is there anything I can do for you today?"

The young man took a deep drag on his cigarette, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, and adopted a "I'll speak, you listen" posture: "I am the director of the Revolutionary Committee of the East Suburb Railway Station, my surname is Han. I'm not here today to discuss official business, but rather some personal matters."

He pointed to the middle-aged man next to him: "This is Director Wang from our station's operations department."

Li Jing'an frowned even more deeply: "What private matters do I have to discuss with you?"

"It's like this, our Director Wang's daughter works at your steel rolling mill. She's been getting a lot of criticism and reprimands lately because of some things. I thought she was just a young girl and didn't understand anything, so I let it go." Director Han said, crossing his legs and speaking in a condescending tone.

Li Jing'an glanced at him, then at the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man stood up at the opportune moment, picked up a bag from beside his feet, placed it on the coffee table, and said with a fawning expression, "Director Li, my daughter is still young, and I hope the factory can give her a chance to reform."

"What's your daughter's name?" Li Jing'an glanced at the two packs of cigarettes in his pocket, then looked at Director Han, who was leisurely smoking on the sofa.

"Wang Manqi".

Looking at the obsequious middle-aged man and the two packs of cigarettes, and then at the pretentious young man with his legs crossed, Li Jing'an suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hahahahaha—"

He laughed so hard he bent over, his hands gripping his knees tightly. If it weren't for the desk next to him blocking the view, he would have collapsed from laughing.

Wang Manqi's father and Director Han exchanged a bewildered glance: What's wrong with Director Li? Suddenly, he burst into uncontrollable laughter. Is he sick?

"Oh my god, this is hilarious..." Li Jing'an wiped away tears of laughter as he leaned against his desk and picked up the phone: "Hello, connect me to Team Leader Gou from the Human Resources and Social Security Group. Have him bring a few people over."

After hanging up the phone, Li Jing'an looked at the two men and said jokingly, "You two comrades, did you come here today just to make me laugh?"

Wang Manqi's father sat awkwardly in his chair, at a loss for what to do. Director Han frowned, thinking to himself: Is this guy surnamed Li being disrespectful? Doesn't he realize that all the goods from his factory go through our station? Isn't he afraid I'll sabotage him?

If Li Jing'an knew what he was thinking, he'd laugh himself silly. Ignorance is bliss! A mere little freight station trying to strangle a large steel rolling mill? Not even the entire Beijing Railway Bureau would dare!

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door, and Team Leader Gou rushed in with his men: "Director Li, what are your orders?"

"Arrest those two bastards!"