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

The windows and doors of the technical department office were tightly closed. When Li Jing'an pushed the door open, Section Chief Sun was sitting alone behind his desk, a cigarette between his fingers, his brows furrowed, looking preoccupied.

Li Jing'an casually pulled up a chair and sat down, took out a cigarette case from his pocket, handed one over, lit one for himself, took a puff of smoke, and then lowered his voice to ask, "Brother Sun, you don't look well. What's wrong?"

Section Chief Sun took the cigarette, brought it to his lips, took a deep drag, exhaled a long cloud of white smoke, followed by a deep sigh, his voice filled with unspeakable frustration: "Don't even mention it, brother. I was detained for investigation yesterday too. They kept me there all night and only released me this morning."

Li Jing'an paused slightly, a look of surprise on his face, his voice tightening involuntarily: "An investigation? Is it that serious? Could it be... that enemy agents are involved?"

"It's not that weird." Section Chief Sun waved his hand, took another puff of his cigarette, his brows still furrowed. "It's just bad luck, I ran into a hurdle for no reason."

He paused, the ash from his cigarette falling softly onto the table, too lazy to brush it away. He just sighed again before continuing, "It's Chen Qing, the one who just started working at the factory this year. Didn't I mention him to you at the factory's dance party a while ago? That kid got into trouble. He took military-related blueprints home without permission, and someone robbed him on the way."

"Isn't this serious?" Li Jing'an immediately frowned. Military blueprints are no small matter. Even a simple sketch is a big deal once it leaves the factory.

Section Chief Sun waved his hand, his tone tinged with a mixture of helplessness and amusement: "Don't rush, let me finish. These parts are standard equipment for the military. The blueprints aren't classified at all, and they're not of any significant value. But rules are rules. Military equipment is military equipment. Once it leaves the factory gates, its nature changes."

He picked up the enamel mug on the table, took a sip of cool boiled water to moisten his throat, and continued, "Chen Qing is new here. He usually does things like tidying up scraps and correcting small annotations. Young people are ambitious and want to show off, so he took the blueprints home after get off work, intending to work on them at home that night. Who would have thought he'd be robbed on the way? Judging from the situation, the thief wasn't after the blueprints; he was probably some street thug who thought the bag contained money, tickets, or something similar, and just robbed it."

Li Jing'an nodded, then asked, "Have the thieves been caught?"

"It's tough," Section Chief Sun sighed again, shaking his head. "Yesterday, the police station took all the habitual thieves and hooligans from Chen Qing's neighborhood back for questioning. They interrogated them, but they didn't find a single clue. Chen Qing himself didn't even see what the person looked like. It was dark and the road was remote, and there wasn't even a witness. This case is completely hopeless for the time being."

"How is Chen Qing now?" Li Jing'an asked again.

"He was taken away by the security department for investigation, and his girlfriend was taken away with him too," said Section Chief Sun. "The girl in the red dress at the dance that day was also called in for questioning, and she probably won't be back for the next few days."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing'an nodded slightly and said nothing more.

Section Chief Sun, smoking a cigarette, looked increasingly grim. After a long silence, he finally spoke, his tone full of frustration: "It's all Chen Qing's fault for bringing this upon himself. If the blueprints had been stolen, it would have been a simple case of unauthorized possession; he could have admitted his mistake and received a punishment, and that would have been the end of it. But he, thinking he was being clever, dug out a useless old blueprint from the pile, modified it a bit, and submitted it, hoping to get away with it. But when they checked it, he was caught, and things have escalated."

Seeing Section Chief Sun's worried face and sighing, Li Jing'an couldn't help but advise, "Brother Sun, this is ultimately his own business. He took the drawings without permission and falsified them. It has little to do with you. Besides, those drawings weren't any important secrets, and they didn't cause any substantial damage, so the higher-ups won't investigate further."

Upon hearing this, Section Chief Sun could only manage a bitter smile, his eyes concealing a hint of unease: "That's true, but I'm afraid. The factory is a complex place, and it's hard to guarantee that there aren't people with ulterior motives who might use this to attack me. After all, we're involved with military parts, and if I'm really accused of lax management, I'm afraid it won't be easy for me to be the section chief."

Hearing this, Li Jing'an smiled and calmly comforted him, "Brother Sun, you're overthinking it. Look, the factory is quiet today, there's no commotion at all, and the military hasn't come either. It means that the higher-ups haven't taken this matter seriously at all, and it's not as terrible as you think."

Section Chief Sun's eyes lit up suddenly, and he leaned forward slightly, saying quickly, "Brother Li, you understand it clearly, please analyze it for me."

"Is that even a question?" Li Jing'an flicked his cigarette ash, his tone certain. "If this really blows up, the first person to take responsibility won't be you, it will be the Party Secretary and the factory director. They want to suppress this matter more than anyone else, to make it seem like a small thing. With the big shots taking the lead, what are you worrying about?"

Section Chief Sun was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh, his worried expression instantly dissipating. He nodded repeatedly, "Yes! Yes! You're absolutely right! If this gets out of hand, the Party Secretary and the Factory Director will also be in trouble. They're even more anxious than I am! Thank goodness you've put my mind at ease, otherwise I would have been worried sick."

As he spoke, he stood up and enthusiastically grabbed Li Jing'an, saying, "Don't say anything more. I'll treat you to lunch today at the restaurant near the factory gate. We'll cook a couple of dishes and have a couple of drinks to thank you properly."

Li Jing'an quickly waved his hand to decline, stood up and picked up his coat draped over the back of the chair: "Brother Sun, you're too kind. We're all brothers, there's no need for such formalities. I have some urgent business to attend to at noon, so I won't have lunch. Don't worry about me."

Before Section Chief Sun could offer any further advice, Li Jing'an waved and strode out of the technical department office. Section Chief Sun stood there, looking at the empty doorway, then glanced down at the cigarette butts on the table, and finally let out a long sigh of relief. The weight that had been pressing on his heart all night had finally been lifted.

After leaving the technical department, Li Jing'an slowly walked back to the steel rolling mill's guesthouse. He went up to the third floor, opened the door to his office, and gently closed it behind him.

He sat down at the table, took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. His mind was still on what had just happened. A thought flickered in his mind: could he take advantage of the situation to his advantage again?

But after the cigarette had burned down to about half its length, he shook his head slightly, suppressing the thought for the time being.

I have to go to the car fleet this afternoon to borrow a car. Tomorrow is his cousin's wedding day. A couple of days ago, when his cousin came to deliver a message, Li Jing'an promised to help him get a car for the wedding.