Siheyuan (courtyard house): My father, Li Yunlong!

Ding Wei shook his head.

"Old Li mentioned this once, and he was very angry, cursing that the Chamber of Commerce as a scoundrel. But as for how Zhenhua resolved it... Old Li didn't say, and Zhenhua certainly wouldn't tell me. It seems... the problem was eventually resolved, and production wasn't delayed."

He recalled an incident where he overheard Li Zhenhua making a phone call in his study, his voice low and his tone cold. He mentioned phrases like "as soon as possible," "at any cost," and "by sea." At the time, he thought it was an urgent matter at the factory, but now, thinking back...

Silence fell over the office again.

Ding Wei felt like he was being roasted on a fire, every second was torture.

He knew that although what he said consisted of factual fragments, combined with the materials, it undoubtedly added more doubts about Li Zhenhua.

The guilt of repaying kindness with enmity gnawed at his heart.

On the other hand, the old leader's words, the doubts in the materials, and his own deep-seated unease and suspicion towards Li Zhenhua pushed him forward.

"Ding Wei,"

The old leader spoke again, his tone grave.

"Your cooperation is very important. The information you provided, though fragmented, is very valuable. At least it confirms that Li Zhenhua does indeed have some resources and connections beyond the norm, and he is very secretive about them. His relationship with Lou Bancheng also deserves further investigation. This is no longer just a matter of working methods; it may involve economic discipline, or even more serious areas."

He looked at Ding Wei's struggling and painful face, his tone softened a little, but remained firm.

"I understand your difficulties. Li Yunlong is your brother, and Li Zhenhua has been kind to you. But Ding Wei, don't forget your identity—a veteran who has been tested by war! Personal feelings cannot override organizational principles and national interests! If Li Zhenhua has truly gone astray, pulling him back now is saving him, and also saving Li Yunlong, preventing them from going further down the wrong path and making irreparable mistakes in the future! That would truly harm them!"

"on the contrary,"

The old leader leaned back, his eyes piercing.

"If he is indeed innocent and can withstand investigation, then your words will only help the organization clear his name more quickly and dispel unnecessary suspicions from the outside world. This is also a form of protection for him."

"As for your personal issues,"

The old leader paused meaningfully for a moment.

"Your attitude and performance will be noticed by the organization. Being realistic and truthful is always the top priority. If you can do this, you will be the greatest responsibility to the organization and the best way to account for your own history."

Coercion, persuasion, enticement, calls to principles, warnings of consequences... all sorts of words intertwined to form a large net, binding Ding Wei firmly.

His face was ashen, and his eyes stared blankly ahead, as if he had lost all his strength.

After a long, suffocating silence, Ding Wei nodded very slowly, bit by bit.

His movements were subtle, yet they seemed to have exhausted all his strength.

"...I understand, sir."

His voice was so low it was almost inaudible, filled with endless exhaustion and a barely perceptible tremor.

"I will... cooperate with the organization. I will tell you the truth about what I know. But..."

He raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, with a last shred of almost pleading persistence.

"Old Li... he might genuinely be unaware of these matters. He's an expert in warfare, but he doesn't understand these economic matters, nor is he necessarily concerned with the details. We urge the organization... to consider this point during the investigation. Li Zhenhua... he's still young. If... if he truly made a mistake and went astray, we urge the organization... for Old Li's sake, to... to give him a chance to correct his course."

These words were spoken with great difficulty; he wanted to distance himself from Li Yunlong, yet he couldn't help but plead for Li Zhenhua, a conflict that caused him great pain.

The old commander looked at him, and the lines on his face seemed to soften for a moment, but he quickly regained his dignified calm.

"The organization will investigate the specific circumstances thoroughly in accordance with laws and regulations and based on facts. We will not wrong an innocent person, nor will we let any problems go unpunished. The organization is aware of Comrade Li Yunlong's historical achievements. As for Li Zhenhua, how to handle him depends on the nature of the problem and his attitude. These are not things you need to worry about right now."

He stood up, indicating that the conversation was about to end.

"Ding Wei, our conversation today, and the materials you've seen, are top secret. You must sign a confidentiality agreement. After you return, act as usual and don't show any unusual behavior. Continue to monitor the Li family, especially Li Zhenhua's movements. If there are any new or valuable developments, report them through the comrade who brought you here, as agreed."

Ding Wei also struggled to stand up, his body swaying slightly.

He raised his right hand, intending to salute, but his arm was too heavy to lift, and he eventually just let it fall slumped down.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he said nothing. He just nodded heavily, his eyes filled with complex, indescribable pain and determination.

He knew that from this moment on, some things were different.

He stood at a crossroads and chose a path filled with inner torment.

His gratitude to the Li family, his loyalty to the organization, his pursuit of justice, his yearning for his own innocence, and the deep-seated, unspeakable suspicion of Li Zhenhua, all intertwined to form a heavy shackle that bound him and would quietly influence the storms to come.

at the same time.

This is the courtyard house.

Holding the note "begged" from Yan Bugui, Sha Zhu and He Yuzhu were so excited that they couldn't sleep for several nights, as if they were holding a marriage certificate bestowed by the emperor.

After spending two days scouting the area outside the district cultural center where Yu Li worked, figuring out her approximate get off work hours, and following Li Zhenhua's advice, she gritted her teeth and squeezed out money from her advance salary to buy a brand new blue khaki work uniform. She even went to the barbershop to shave and get a haircut, making her look much more energetic, although her honest and simple demeanor and the strong smell of cooking oil from years of wielding a spatula still lingered between her brows.

For their first official "encounter," Sha Zhu chose the time when the cultural center was busiest after closing. He carried a faded canvas bag containing a carefully prepared lunchbox—a few of his signature dishes that he had secretly worked overtime in the cafeteria the night before, using all his skills to prepare: a bright red braised pork belly, a meticulously shredded stir-fry of three ingredients, and two soft white steamed buns.

He figured that Yu Li was a temporary worker at the cultural center, with low wages and the cafeteria food must be mediocre. These days, being able to have a decent meal is better than any sweet talk.

Seeing Yu Li and several female colleagues walking out laughing and talking in the distance, Sha Zhu's heart nearly jumped out of his throat.

He took a few deep breaths, steeled himself, and stepped forward to block Yu Li's path.

"Comrade Yu... Yu Li!"

Yu Li and her companions stopped and looked at the strange man who had suddenly appeared with a puzzled expression.

Yu Li sized him up. He was fairly robust, but his face was honest and even a little silly. He seemed a bit uncomfortable in his new clothes, and he was carrying a bulging old canvas bag. He was nothing like the colleagues at the cultural center who talked about poetry and music, or the government officials and technicians she had met on blind dates before.

"Who are you?"

Yu Li frowned her delicate eyebrows, her tone distant.

"I...I am He Yuzhu, a cook at Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill. I live in No. 95 Nanluoguxiang Courtyard, the same courtyard as Yan Jiecheng...uh, Teacher Yan."

Sha Zhu was so nervous that he became somewhat incoherent.

"It was Teacher Yan who gave me your...your work address. I...I made something to eat, thinking you might be hungry since you just got off work..."

As he spoke, he hurriedly opened the canvas bag, took out the aluminum lunchbox wrapped in a clean towel, and shoved it into Yu Li's hand without saying a word.

The lunchbox was still warm.

Yu Li was taken aback by his abrupt action, while the female colleagues around her covered their mouths and chuckled, casting curious and teasing glances at her.

Yu Li was a little embarrassed. She was a temporary worker at the cultural center. Although her family was not well-off, she had high aspirations and longed for a cultured and promising partner. What was this reckless cook doing? Delivering meals? He was so unsophisticated!

"What are you doing! Who told you to deliver something? I don't know you!"

Yu Li pulled her hand back as if she had been burned, and the lunchbox almost fell to the ground, but Sha Zhu caught it in a fluster.

Her face flushed red, a mixture of anger and embarrassment.

"I...I didn't mean any harm, really! It's just some food I made myself, you can try it, my cooking is pretty good..."

Sha Zhu was sweating profusely, holding the lunchbox like a child who had done something wrong.

"Take it! I don't need it!"

Yu Li's tone grew even colder as she pulled up a female colleague next to her who was also suppressing a laugh.

"Let's go!"

After saying that, he didn't even look at Sha Zhu and quickly left.

Sha Zhu stood frozen in place, holding his lunchbox, watching Yu Li's slender yet resolute back, and hearing the faint laughter of his female colleagues. His burning heart instantly turned cold, and his face burned.

The first attack ended in a crushing defeat.

But Sha Zhu has no other advantages, except for a kind of tenacity, or as he himself puts it, "resilient".

I was depressed all night, but I started thinking about it again the next day.

Factory Director Li said to be attentive and not reckless. Was I being too hasty?

Is the method wrong?

He changed his strategy and stopped trying to ambush her. Instead, he started "bumping into" her at the intersection she passed on her way to and from get off work. They would keep a distance, nod, give each other a sheepish smile, and say nothing.

Yu Li initially ignored him completely, treating him like he wasn't there. Sha Zhu didn't give up, continuing every day.

At the same time, he made use of his "professional expertise".

He learned that the cultural center occasionally needed to prepare simple lunches for visiting guests or staff working overtime, but the center didn't have its own canteen and had to order from state-run restaurants outside, which were expensive and not always to their liking. Sha Zhu, through a clerk in the steel mill's logistics department who had some connections with the cultural center, indirectly conveyed the message that the canteen at the Red Star Steel Mill could help, offering discounted prices and guaranteed good taste.

The logistics staff at the cultural center were skeptical, but tried booking one.

As a result, Sha Zhu personally took charge of the cooking. Although it was a large-scale cooking project, he used his best skills, using high-quality ingredients and producing an outstanding taste. The young people from the cultural center who were working overtime praised it highly.

After a while, the cultural center would occasionally have their meals served directly to Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu always made extra care, and often "accidentally" made too much so that people who came to pick up their meals could "take it back for everyone to try," and naturally, Yu Li's portion was always included.

Yu Li didn't know at first that this "delicious overtime meal" was made by Sha Zhu. She just felt that the quality of the meals ordered from the restaurant had improved by leaps and bounds recently.

Until one day, she overheard the logistics staff muttering:

"...Master He from the steel rolling mill is an honest man, and his skills are truly exceptional!"

He gave a thumbs-up. Yu Li's heart skipped a beat. Master He? From the steel rolling mill?

She remembered the big, clumsy guy who had blocked her way to deliver food.

When Yu Li "accidentally" met Sha Zhu again, her gaze towards him was less cold and more complicated.

Sha Zhu still smiled憨憨地, but this time he spoke, though not loudly:

"Comrade Yu Li, last time... I'm sorry, I was too impulsive. Is the food at the restaurant... to your liking?"

Looking at his sincere, even somewhat clumsy, expression, and recalling the delicious food, Yu Li suddenly found herself unable to utter the sarcastic words that were on the tip of her tongue.

She hummed in response, but didn't stop walking.

But for Shazhu, that "hmm" was nothing short of heavenly music!

There's a chance!

He became even more enthusiastic.

Instead of delivering the whole lunchbox, they would occasionally "coincidentally" slip Yu Li a still-warm sesame seed cake wrapped in a handkerchief, or two tea eggs, and whisper:

"It was just made in the cafeteria, it's clean, I'll have it to tide me over."

Then, instead of refusing, Li turned and left.

Yu Li held the simple yet substantial food, her feelings a mix of emotions.

This He Yuzhu seems a bit silly, and his actions are so straightforward that they're almost laughable, but... he doesn't seem to have any bad intentions; he just simply wants to be good to her.

Moreover, his culinary skills were truly exceptional; those foods represented genuine care and warmth in an era of scarcity.

She recalled Yan Jiecheng, whose blind dates involved mostly calculating the conditions of both parties, and whose conversations were dull;

Thinking back to the people I was introduced to before, they were either too picky or too calculating.

This simpleton, though not exactly respectable, possesses a genuine and honest sincerity, like an uncarved stone—unpleasant yet reassuring.

Yan Bugui secretly observed all of this.

He was shrewd and calculating. Giving Sha Zhu his contact information was purely to give Li Zhenhua face, and also to disgust Yu Li, who didn't like his son.

He didn't think Sha Zhu could succeed. He was just a cook, and a greenhorn at that. How could he possibly win over the proud and arrogant Yu Li?

But things took a turn for the worse than he expected.

Although Yu Li didn't explicitly say anything, her attitude towards Sha Zhu had clearly softened, and she could even exchange a few words with him occasionally.

Yan Bugui's little scheme began to take shape again.

If Sha Zhu really catches up with Yu Li, then as the "matchmaker" (albeit passively), wouldn't I also get some benefits?

At least, her relationship with Li Zhenhua seems to have gotten a step closer?

But what if it doesn't work? Wouldn't all my efforts have been for nothing?

Or, if Yu Li ultimately doesn't like Sha Zhu, will she blame herself for messing things up?

Compared to Sha Zhu's clumsy but progressing pursuit, Yi Zhonghai, another "old patriarch" in the courtyard, was having a much harder time.

Since Li Zhenhua publicly exposed his scheme to instigate Banggeng to steal soy sauce and ruin Shazhu's blind date, and after being outmaneuvered in the "donation incident," Yi Zhonghai's "moral authority" and "old man" prestige, which he had accumulated over many years in the courtyard, collapsed.