The Courtyard House: Xu Damao's Aunt is the Queen of Women

Hmm, this Naza has a very high level of awareness!

Liu Hao smiled, turned around and went back to the living room, where he sat down and looked through the documents that Ye Juan had just signed.

The 34 prisoners to be released tomorrow morning are the first batch of prisoners released from the First Labor Reform Farm this year. Their initial sentences were 8 to 10 years, but due to their active participation in reform and good behavior, they received sentence reductions of 1 to 2 years. One of the prisoners was quite educated, having graduated from the Department of Mathematics at Tsinghua University. He caught his wife cheating on him with her brother-in-law, but was then murdered by his wife and brother-in-law in a fit of rage. He was sentenced to 8 years and 4 months in prison.

Holy crap, the world is truly a strange place!

Liu Hao felt a chill run down his spine. He put down the documents, picked up Ye Juan's water glass and took a sip, then reached for the purse on the chair next to him, opened it, and took out a kraft paper document bag marked "Top Secret".

Before returning from the Lop Nur base, Professor Qian gave him the technical data and asked him to help solve it in the next couple of days.

Tearing open the seal, Liu Hao pulled out the notebook filled with engineering equations and formulas, and began to quickly solve the problems.

Naza brought out a plate of stir-fried mutton and saw Liu Hao writing furiously. She leaned over to take a look and stared in astonishment.

What is this?

can't read!

But it doesn't seem impressive!

Liu Hao didn't mind that Nazha saw these top-secret technologies, because Nazha's ability to become Ye Juan's secretary proved her family background was clean and her political background was up to standard.

"Can you understand it?"

Naza shook her head, her eyes looking innocent and clear.

"Advanced mathematics? That sounds amazing!"

"Physics formulas!"

"..."

Naza blushed, put down the plate, and ran away.

This is so embarrassing. Will Secretary Liu think I'm uncultured?

In the kitchen, Ye Juan noticed Nazha's expression and asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Naza shook her head: "Uh, it's nothing!"

Ye Juan narrowed her eyes, peeked into the living room, and saw Liu Hao solving a formula. She immediately guessed why.

"Haha, you probably don't understand physics and are mistaking physics formulas for mathematics, aren't you?"

Naza's fair face instantly turned bright red.

"This... Secretary Ye, how did you guess?"

"Because I don't understand it either! When I first saw Brother Hao studying physics formulas, I also thought it was mathematics."

After Ye Juan finished speaking with a smile, she added, "Actually, it's not that wrong. Mathematics is the language of physics."

"Those densely packed formulas, which look like pure numerical calculations, actually describe the physical laws of the universe."

"Without mathematics, the principles of physics cannot be accurately expressed. Conversely, many advanced mathematical problems were created specifically to solve difficult physics problems."

Naza was surprised. Secretary Ye didn't understand physics?

That's impossible! I heard that Secretary Ye's older sister is an associate researcher at the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

"Secretary Ye, isn't your elder sister a scientist? Secretary Liu also understands physics, how come you don't?"

"..."

Ye Juan uttered a loud remark: "My older sister, my man understands, so I must understand too?"

"I'm stupid, I can't learn it."

"Huh? Why can't you learn it? Is it because you don't want to learn?"

Ye Juan laughed in exasperation. This secretary was too straightforward, with a pure and kind personality, but she was prone to offending people.

"If you don't want to learn, from now on you are not allowed to speak."

Naza puffed out her cheeks and obediently got to work.

Soon, the four dishes and one soup were ready. Liu Hao put away the documents and turned to look out the window.

"What's wrong with Master today? Why hasn't he come over yet?"

Ye Juan brought over two bowls of rice and casually said, "They probably thought we weren't back yet, so they ate at the cafeteria. Let's eat."

Liu Hao took the rice, picked up his chopsticks to eat, and noticed that Nazha's expression was a little strange.

"Nazha, what's wrong?"

Naza remained silent and looked at Ye Juan.

Ye Juan rolled her eyes and said irritably, "That brat is such a troublemaker, she can drive you crazy with her words. I won't let her talk."

Naza asked instinctively, "What's a 'ghost spirit'?"

Ye Juan placed a piece of mutton in Liu Hao's bowl and explained, "I just like to contradict him."

"No, I didn't! Secretary Ye, please don't wrong me!"

Naza denied it three times in a row, and she was so anxious that she almost cried.

"I'm not contradicting anyone, I'm just telling the truth."

"Oh right, right, hurry up and eat, then get out of here."

Ye Juan was too lazy to argue with Nazha, lest she get angry again.

Liu Hao, however, became interested and teased, "Nazha, since you like to tell the truth, then tell me, what are your strengths and weaknesses?"

"..."

Naza paused for a few seconds, then said with a frustrated look, "My strength is that I like to tell the truth, and it seems that my weakness is also that. My parents tell me to talk less and do more when I'm out in public."

Liu Hao understood; in the 21st century, this kind of personality is called low emotional intelligence.

Seeing Nazha looking depressed and aggrieved, completely unaware of her own problem, Liu Hao said with a smile, "You need to change the way you speak; don't be so blunt."

Naza frowned slightly, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Secretary Liu, is it wrong to tell the truth? The organization has always taught us to be realistic and truthful. Are we supposed to learn to lie?"

"It's good to be truthful, but you also need to be mindful of the occasion and the degree of your words."

Liu Hao patiently explained, "Some things are better left unsaid; it's not about being deceitful, but about the wisdom of dealing with people."

Naza remained serious and earnestly refuted her claims.

"If we conceal the truth because of the occasion, what kind of pragmatism is that? Wouldn't our ideological awareness be compromised? As a young cadre nurtured by the Party and the country, I should adhere to my principles and never violate them because of personal relationships."

Ye Juan smiled, looking forward to Liu Hao teaching Nazha a lesson.

Debating with Liu Hao is like showing off your skills in front of Guan Yu.

She has experienced firsthand how eloquent Liu Hao is on numerous occasions.

Liu Hao's personality is such that he is unforgiving when he is in the right, and he will make trouble even when he is not. He will blame others but not himself, and he will reflect on himself three times a day, thinking, "I am fine, I did nothing wrong, I am right."

Even if he did something wrong, does saying "putting aside the facts" mean you're without fault? That can make you so angry you feel short of breath, dizzy, and your head is spinning.

Liu Hao smiled slightly and calmly put down his chopsticks.

"Nazha, you have misinterpreted the true meaning of seeking truth from facts."

Naza clearly hadn't expected Liu Hao to directly refute her point of view, and immediately straightened her back: "Secretary Liu, where did I misunderstand?"

"Being realistic means being meticulous and pragmatic in one's work and principles, not speaking recklessly regardless of the occasion or the audience."

Liu Hao spoke calmly and clearly, his words hitting the nail on the head.

"The organization educates us to speak the truth and do practical things, but it has never taught us to disregard personal feelings and tact and bluntly hurt our comrades."

"Adhering to principles does not mean being inflexible, and staying true to one's principles does not mean ignoring the art of communication."

Naza opened her mouth, wanting to refute, but couldn't find the right words.

"You mistake being straightforward for upholding principles, and speaking without restraint for being pragmatic. This is not a sign of high moral character, but rather rigid dogmatism."

Liu Hao said in a deep voice: "True high awareness means being able to uphold principles and bottom lines, unite comrades, consider the occasion, never hide the truth when it is necessary, and know how to be tactful and reserved when necessary. This is the quality that a qualified cadre should have."

"If you blindly pursue the so-called truth and argue back regardless of time or place, it will only hurt the feelings of your colleagues and hinder the work. Is this your understanding of staying true to your principles?"

A series of probing questions, with logic building upon each other, instantly shattered Naza's preconceived notions.

She stared blankly at Liu Hao, her bright eyes filled with confusion, her previous firm confidence vanishing in an instant.

She always thought that her insistence on telling the truth was a matter of principle and a sign of strong moral character, but she never imagined that this bluntness, regardless of the situation, would become the biggest problem.

"I...I never thought about these things," Naza murmured, her face full of disappointment.

"There's nothing wrong with telling the truth, but how you say it is equally important."

Liu Hao softened his tone and summarized gently.

"One must uphold principles and understand boundaries; only by balancing both can one truly have sound ideology."

Naza was completely convinced, lowered her head, and honestly admitted her mistake.

"I understand now, Secretary Liu. I misunderstood. I will definitely be more careful with my words in the future!"