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

"Excuse me, ma'am, does Chen Qing live in this courtyard?"

"Yes, it's the east wing."

A few middle-aged women were chatting in the courtyard when they all looked over at the question. One of them sized Li Jing'an up and down, a smile on her face but scrutiny in her eyes: "You are...?"

"I'm from the steel rolling mill. Comrade Chen Qing went to the countryside, and the factory asked me to come and see if there's anything I can help with for Comrade Zhou Yufei." Li Jing'an had a gentle smile on his face and was very polite.

"Oh my, listen to this! Big factories are so considerate; they really care about their workers!"

"Of course! If my son could get a job at the steel rolling mill, I'd be incredibly lucky!"

The older women chatted amongst themselves, their words filled with envy.

Li Jing'an casually responded twice, leaned his bicycle against the wall of the east wing, and knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door creaked open.

When Zhou Yufei saw Li Jing'an standing outside the door, her face turned pale instantly. She took a half-step back, flustered, and her voice trembled as she asked, "You... why are you here?"

Li Jing'an narrowed his eyes, his smile fading slightly, replaced by a condescending look: "Why can't I come? Are you not planning to let me in?"

Zhou Yufei felt flustered and subconsciously stepped aside. Li Jing'an strode into the house and closed the door halfway behind him.

He stood in the middle of the room, his gaze slowly sweeping over the simple furnishings and the New Year pictures on the walls before finally settling on Zhou Yufei. His tone turned serious: "I told you to report to the guesthouse yesterday, where were you? Did you not take my words to heart?"

Zhou Yufei clutched the hem of her clothes, lowered her head, and explained softly, "My mother-in-law came over yesterday at noon, so... I went home."

Li Jing'an took a step forward, almost touching her, his voice low but carrying an undeniable air of authority: "Don't you know the rules? From now on, if you need anything, you must ask me for leave first, understand?"

Zhou Yufei's heart skipped a beat as he pressed her forward. Afraid that the old ladies in the yard would hear the noise, she hurriedly hid to the side and subconsciously glanced outside the door.

Li Jing'an saw her flustered and evasive appearance, chuckled softly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes: "I asked you to go to the guesthouse yesterday, but you didn't go. Fine, then I'll come to your house today."

After saying that, he went straight to the bedroom in the inner room.

Zhou Yufei's face flushed red with anxiety. She quickly chased after him, her voice pleading, "Brother Li, please don't do this... I'll come to the guesthouse to find you first thing tomorrow morning. Can you go back today?"

Li Jing'an acted as if he hadn't heard her. As soon as he entered the bedroom, he casually threw his coat on the bedside table, sat down on the edge of the bed, and looked up at her.

Seeing his overly familiar manner, Zhou Yufei's eyes instantly reddened, tears welling up. She bit her lip, tiptoed back to the outer room, and slowly closed the door, her movements so soft as if afraid of making a sound—the older women in the courtyard were still talking, and she could vaguely hear their laughter coming in.

When she returned to the bedroom, she saw Li Jing'an lying casually on her bed, a cigarette between his fingers, slowly smoking, flicking the ash onto the edge of the bed.

Zhou Yufei was so frightened that her heart almost jumped out of her chest, and she reached out to pull the curtains.

Li Jing'an, lying on the bed, suddenly chuckled softly: "Why draw the curtains? It's broad daylight; if you do, won't people outside think something's going on in the room?"

Zhou Yufei's hand froze in mid-air, unsure whether to move forward or backward.

Li Jing'an watched her dilemma with satisfaction, then slowly exhaled a puff of smoke: "In broad daylight, unless someone is peering through the glass, who can see inside?"

Zhou Yufei stood there, her body tense, unable to utter a single word. The sunlight streamed through the window, falling on her pale face. She lowered her eyes, her eyelashes trembling slightly, filled only with helplessness and panic.

………………

After resting at Zhou Yufei's house, Li Jing'an got up, straightened his clothes, and watched her buttoning her clothes. He said, "I'm very satisfied with your performance today. I'll take you out for something nice to eat later."

Zhou Yufei tried to decline, but he had already pushed the door open and left. She could only hurriedly follow, her hair not yet fully combed. Once outside the compound, she put on her scarf, afraid that someone she knew might recognize her on the street.

Li Jing'an was taking her to meet with Director Xu of the enamel factory.

The two arrived at the entrance of a decent-looking state-owned restaurant, where they saw Director Xu waiting alone at the door, but the Party Secretary did not appear.

Li Jing'an raised an eyebrow slightly: "Why isn't the Party Secretary here?"

Director Xu smiled broadly and bowed slightly: "The Party Secretary had some urgent business at home and couldn't leave, so I came alone today."

Only Director Xu knew the truth: there was nothing wrong with it. It was simply that the Party Secretary didn't want to see Li Jing'an anymore, but didn't dare to offend him, so he pushed the problem onto him.

The three entered the restaurant and immediately requested a private room. The waiter brought tea, the enamel mug making a dull thud as it hit the table.

As soon as they sat down, Li Jing'an pushed the menu in front of Zhou Yufei: "Order whatever you want, don't be shy."

Factory Director Xu quickly chimed in, "Yes, comrade, whatever you say, it's on me today." He glanced at Zhou Yufei, unsure of her relationship with Li Jing'an, and dared not ask further.

Zhou Yufei had never seen anything like this before. She hurriedly flipped through two pages of the menu, only daring to order two of the most ordinary home-style dishes—hot and sour cabbage and stir-fried shredded potatoes—before quickly closing the menu.

Li Jing'an reached out and took the menu back, giving her a half-smile: "Just these two? Are you looking down on Director Xu?"

After saying that, he didn't even look at the menu and immediately ordered the dishes, specifically the expensive, rare, and not-so-frequently-served ones—braised pork belly, sweet and sour carp, braised sea cucumber with scallions, and braised pork knuckle. He ordered four more hearty dishes in one go. Then he asked Director Xu if there was anything else he wanted to add.

Factory Director Xu's smile froze for a moment, but he could only nod repeatedly: "That's enough, Comrade Li has considered everything carefully."

While waiting for the food to be served, Director Xu took out a bulging envelope from his pocket and handed it to Li Jing'an with both hands, saying carefully, "Comrade Li, it's cold today, please take this and put on some warm clothes."

Li Jing'an feigned reluctance for a couple of minutes, then casually took it, pinched its thickness with his fingertips, and discreetly opened a corner to glance at it.

I had a good idea of ​​what was going on: there were over thirty neatly arranged ten-yuan notes, totaling more than three hundred yuan, and a stack of industrial coupons were also included.

It barely reached his bottom line.

Li Jing'an's face remained expressionless. He stuffed the envelope into the inside pocket of his coat and casually remarked, "Your factory's matter will be approved tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Factory Director Xu immediately stood up from his seat, bowed deeply, and repeatedly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you so much, Comrade Li! Thank you so much, Comrade Li! You have truly helped us a great deal!"

Li Jing'an waved his hand casually, picked up his teacup and took a sip. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he slowly said, "By the way, you're an enamelware factory, right? I heard your products are pretty good, unlike the basins and jars at home, which break down after a short time because of poor quality."

Upon hearing this, Director Xu immediately understood.

He quickly smiled apologetically and said, "Comrade Li, don't worry, I'll arrange it as soon as I get back and send you a few of the latest sets so you can try them out first."

Li Jing'an frowned slightly, feigning difficulty: "Director Xu, the way you're doing this makes it sound like I, Li Jing'an, am asking you for something. That won't sound good if word gets out."

"No, no! Absolutely not!" Factory Director Xu shook his head vigorously, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "For Comrade Li to use our factory's products is an honor for us, a great favor!"

Zhou Yufei sat to the side, not daring to say a word, just quietly watching the scene before her.

A dignified factory director was so subservient to Li Jing'an, offering him money and gifts without daring to even breathe loudly.

She lowered her head and looked at the cuffs of her faded cotton-padded jacket. For the first time, she had an indescribable feeling about the word "power".