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

Early in the morning, the steel rolling mill was already bustling with the low hum of machines and the gradual rise of human voices. Li Jing'an parked the jeep he had borrowed from the wedding car fleet steadily in the parking lot, turned off the engine, and patted the steering wheel—his cousin's wedding yesterday, the car had been borrowed to make the occasion go smoothly, and he had returned it intact before going to work this morning.

Walking along the main road of the factory area, Li Jing'an paused inadvertently.

Not far away, Zhou Yufei walked alone. Her usual neat and tidy appearance was completely gone. There were dark circles under her eyes, her face was very pale, her shoulders were slightly slumped, and even her walk revealed an unconcealable fatigue, as if she had stayed up for several nights, or as if she had a heavy stone pressing on her heart.

Li Jing'an paused in place, his gaze lingering on her for a moment.

Zhou Yufei is usually gentle and always greets people with a smile, but today, she didn't even lift her head. Her eyes were blank as she stared at the road beneath her feet. She looked listless and had no energy at all.

Inside the switchboard room, several colleagues who had arrived early were chatting together. When Zhou Yufei pushed the door open and walked in, the noise instantly subsided. A female worker who was on good terms with her immediately stepped forward, her face full of concern, and her tone very soft: "Yufei, you've finally arrived! Have you been alright these past few days? We were all worried about you."

Zhou Yufei forced a faint smile, the smile hovering on her face but not reaching her eyes, her voice hoarse and weak: "I'm fine, I went home to rest yesterday."

"What about your boyfriend, Chen Qing? Is he alright?" Another colleague chimed in, his voice full of worry. This matter involved the military industry, and everyone knew it was of great importance.

Zhou Yufei gripped the hem of her clothes tightly with her fingertips, her knuckles turning slightly white. She suppressed the stinging and unease in her eyes and shook her head, feigning composure: "He's fine too, he's gone home."

"Did he come to work today? As for the blueprints... has the factory already dropped the matter?" someone asked, their voice filled with barely suppressed curiosity and worry.

Zhou Yufei lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes concealing the panic in them. She gently shook her head, her voice so low it was almost inaudible: "I'm still at home... The factory's disciplinary decision hasn't been made yet."

These words immediately caused an uproar in the switchboard room.

"Oh dear, what a mess! Perfectly good blueprints stolen! Chen Qing is so unlucky, suffering this undeserved misfortune!"

"Exactly! Those people who stole the blueprints are so despicable. They dared to touch military equipment, causing immense harm! Not only did they harm Chen Qing, but even Yufei has been living in fear and has lost weight these past few days!"

"In my opinion, it's just that those people are jealous and deliberately causing trouble! The factory can't punish Chen Qing without investigating the matter; he didn't do it on purpose!"

Her colleagues chimed in, each one hurling insults at the person who had stolen the blueprints, expressing their sympathy for Zhou Yufei and Chen Qing. But these words of comfort only deepened Zhou Yufei's turmoil. She lowered her head, pursed her lips, and remained silent.

Li Jing'an returned to the guesthouse, brewed a cup of hot tea, and sat down at his desk to look through the recent guest registration records when he heard a "knock knock knock" at the door. The knock was neither too loud nor too soft, and it was very polite.

"Enter."

The door was pushed open, and Wang Caixia, a waitress at the guesthouse, walked in with a smile. Behind her was a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a slightly worn Zhongshan suit, with his hair neatly combed and a polite smile on his face. He was carrying a black imitation leather bag, and it was clear that he was from out of town and had come on business.

"Director Li, this comrade is looking for you. He says he has something important to discuss." Wang Caixia stepped aside to let the person behind her pass and introduced him with a smile.

The middle-aged man quickly stepped forward, extending his hands slightly, and said respectfully, "Director Li, hello. I'm from Changping Agricultural Machinery Factory, my surname is Pan, everyone calls me Lao Pan, and I'm the deputy director of the factory. I came here specifically to see you through the introduction of Deputy Director Liu from the Second Cotton Mill branch."

Li Jing'an stood up, gestured slightly, and said in a calm tone, "Director Pan, right? Please sit down, no need to be so polite. Caixia, go and brew some hot tea."

Wang Caixia responded and turned to go to the tea room. Soon she returned with a steaming enamel teacup, placed it in front of Director Pan, nodded to Li Jing'an, and quietly closed the door behind her, leaving the two of them alone.

Li Jing'an sat down on the sofa opposite him, leaning slightly forward, maintaining the politeness expected of a guesthouse director while remaining tactful: "Director Pan, let's get straight to the point. What brings you here?"

Factory Director Pan's smile widened, and he leaned forward, lowering his voice: "Director Li, to be honest, our Changping Agricultural Machinery Factory is planning to build a batch of new staff housing to solve the housing problem for our employees..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Jing'an's heart skipped a beat, his eyes darkened, and he immediately raised his hand to interrupt, his tone becoming somewhat indifferent: "Director Pan, I can't handle this. If you want to build family dormitories, you need steel bars and cement, which are state-allocated materials. You have to follow the procedures to apply to higher authorities, get approval for quotas, and go through the proper channels. If you want to get some emergency supplies privately, I might be able to help you find some connections, but you're building an entire building. The quantity is huge, and the regulations are strict. As the director of a guesthouse, I don't have that ability, nor do I dare to cross that red line."

Seeing this, Factory Director Pan quickly waved his hand, a hint of helplessness on his face: "Director Li, you've misunderstood, you've misunderstood a lot! Our factory's building materials quota was approved long ago, and the quota is under the section steel branch of your steel rolling mill. It's not that we want you to obtain materials illegally, it's just that we want your help to smooth things over so that the branch can put our production order on the schedule as soon as possible and roll out the steel bars for us earlier, that's all!"

As he spoke, Director Pan skillfully took out a pack of cigarettes, pulled out one, and handed it to Li Jing'an with both hands, then deftly lit it.

Li Jing'an hesitated for a moment, then leaned over to light it, took a drag, and slowly exhaled a smoke ring. His tone remained calm: "What's the rush? The branch factory's production is all scheduled according to orders. When it's your turn, production will naturally begin. Just wait in order. Why go through all this trouble and make a special trip?"

Factory Director Pan's helplessness deepened. He sighed, his brows furrowing tightly, as if facing an insurmountable difficulty: "Director Li, you have no idea how difficult it is! Our orders were almost booked, just three to five days away, but then suddenly a new urgent task was assigned, prioritizing production, which pushed our orders back immediately. I asked around, and this push has serious consequences—our orders are now booked two years into the future!"

"Two years?" Director Pan waved his hand with a bitter face. "Our factory has more than a thousand employees, many of whom are three generations of old and young, crammed into a small bungalow. They are all looking forward to the new staff housing. If construction is delayed by two years, the employees will have a lot of complaints. As the deputy director, I really can't explain it to them! That's why I swallowed my pride and asked you for help through connections."

After hearing this, Li Jing'an paused, the fingers holding the cigarette between his fingers, and his guard relaxed a little—it wasn't about illegally obtaining supplies, it was just about cutting in line, and maybe not even that.

He didn't agree immediately, but instead tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of the solid wood sofa, tap, tap, tap, the rhythm slow, his eyes fixed on the teacup in front of him. No one knew what he was thinking, and the atmosphere became somewhat quiet for a moment.

Seeing his silence, Director Pan knew there was hope, so he immediately moved closer, lowered his voice, and pleaded, "Director Li, I don't want to put you in a difficult position. You don't need to do it yourself. Just introduce me to the branch factory leaders so I can have a word with them."

As soon as he finished speaking, he reached out and opened the faux leather bag beside his leg, took out a thick kraft paper envelope with bulging corners, and quietly pushed it in front of Li Jing'an, pressing it lightly with his fingertips to indicate that he should accept it.

Li Jing'an raised an eyebrow, looked up at Factory Director Pan, and put on a deliberately serious expression. He pushed the envelope away, his tone somewhat reprimanding: "Factory Director Pan, what are you doing? We're doing business, but this won't do. Take it back!"

Even so, as he gently pressed the envelope with his finger, he immediately sensed the weight inside—it wasn't a receipt; the receipts were small and thin, yet there were quite a few of them.

Seeing this, Director Pan immediately reached out and pressed down on Li Jing'an's hand, which was pushing him back. The force was not strong, but it was filled with an earnestness that left no room for refusal. His face was full of sincerity: "Director Li, this is nothing special, just a small token of our appreciation from the factory. Please accept it. If this matter is resolved, the entire factory will remember your kindness. There will be follow-ups, and we will definitely not let you work for nothing."

Li Jing'an continued to decline verbally, and pushed the envelope back with his hand, but the fingertips on the envelope did not press hard anymore, just resting lightly on it.

Seeing that Li's attitude had softened, Director Pan pressed his advantage, his tone becoming more serious: "Director Li, I know this is difficult for you, but think about it, we have over a thousand employees, all with families, who are all hoping for this house. Please have pity on the workers and help us out. On behalf of all the employees, I, Old Pan, thank you!"

Having said that, Li Jing'an paused for a moment, his fingers tapping the armrest stopped, and he sighed softly, as if finally letting go. A look of helplessness appeared on his face: "You, you really leave me speechless. Fine, for the sake of your factory workers, I'll help you out and make the connection."

Upon hearing this, Factory Director Pan's face immediately lit up with a smile, and he nodded repeatedly, "Thank you, Director Li! Thank you so much!"

"Don't be too happy yet," Li Jing'an waved his hand, his tone regaining its composure. "An introduction is one thing, but whether it works out or not depends on the branch factory's arrangements. I can't guarantee anything. Go back first and wait for my call. I'll get in touch with you."

"No problem, no problem!" Factory Director Pan nodded hurriedly, his face full of gratitude. "No rush, no rush, we'll follow Director Li's arrangements. Take your time, we can wait!"

After exchanging a few more polite words, Director Pan, fearing that staying any longer might offend Li Jing'an, tactfully got up to take his leave: "Then, Director Li, I won't disturb your work any longer. I'll go back and wait for your good news!"

Li Jing'an got up and saw him to the door, nodding slightly: "Take care."

Watching Director Pan's figure disappear at the end of the corridor, Li Jing'an closed the door, his politeness and indifference vanishing instantly. He walked back to the sofa, picked up the thick kraft paper envelope, pinched it between his fingertips, walked to his desk, tore open a corner of the envelope, and quickly glanced at it.

He casually stuffed the envelope into his black briefcase.