Courtyard House: I Have Countless Bodyguards

His expression turned slightly serious. "First, the infirmary is in an absurd state. A bunch of young people are surrounding Ding Qiunan, the female doctor who came to the machine repair shop for further training. They're faking illness and acting like patients. It's a huge crowd, and it's having a terrible impact! If word gets out, what will our steel rolling mill look like? The key issue is that it's disrupting production, and the overcrowding can easily lead to safety accidents."

Li Huaide frowned: "Is that so? That's a problem. What's your opinion? Have you reported it to Secretary Nie?"

Liu Jianguo waved his hand: "Hey, I've already dealt with it before any consequences have occurred. I just sent Li Bing to the publicity department to issue a warning notice through the loudspeaker. You might need to talk to the publicity department and ask them to cooperate in establishing a formal regulation."

Li Huaide nodded: "Yes, maintaining production order is the right thing to do. I'll talk to the propaganda department about this later. Alright, the first one is over, let's move on to the next one." He picked up his teacup and looked at Liu Jianguo with a leisurely air.

Liu Jianguo's smile widened even more:

"The second thing is good news. I brought back some local specialties from Inner Mongolia, like mutton and milk tofu. I'll have Li Bing deliver them to your home tomorrow so you can try them!"

Li Huaide scoffed, pointing at Liu Jianguo: "Come on! Don't give me that crap! Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious. Just say it, what's the matter? Stop beating around the bush!"

Liu Jianguo feigned grievance: "Old Li, look at you, we're all revolutionary comrades, yet you have no trust at all!"

Having finished his joke, he composed himself, leaned forward, and lowered his voice: "You really can't hide anything from you. Here's the thing, I was just at the infirmary dealing with that mess, and I observed carefully. That Dr. Ding Qiunan from the machine repair shop who's doing his training is really skilled; he's adept and patient in treating wounds. Several of my injured guys came back praising him, saying it's such a shame such a good doctor left after his training, they're all saying they're not used to it. Do you think... there's any possibility of finding a way to keep him here?"

Upon hearing this, Li Huaide exaggeratedly slapped his forehead, his face displaying an expression of "I knew it!"

"I knew it! You've got something important to tell me! Stealing talent from another company, especially a key technical staff member—is that something a human being would do? You've really given me a hard time!"

He hesitated, not immediately refusing.

Liu Jianguo understood; if they didn't refuse, it meant they were interested. He decided to accept the situation and said with a smile:

"Hey, I'm just asking on behalf of my brothers, to convey the people's voice. Whether it works out or not, of course, it's up to you, Director Li, to consider it. You can think about it first, I'm not in a hurry."

He knew that the time was right; all that remained was for Li Huaide to weigh the pros and cons and wait for suitable terms for the exchange.

Seeing that the matter had been brought to a close and the time was right, Liu Jianguo said no more and stood up decisively.

"Alright, Lao Li, you think it over carefully. I'm heading out now. I've been gone for two months, and I've almost forgotten which way my front door faces."

Li Huaide also smiled and stood up, escorting him to the door and patting him on the shoulder:

"Go back and get some rest. You've had a hard time on this trip. We'll talk about the factory matters tomorrow."

The two exchanged a knowing glance, and Liu Jianguo turned and left the deputy factory director's office.

The loudspeakers in the factory were playing the rousing song "We Workers Have Strength," and the workers, like a tide, poured out of the workshops as they finished their shifts, their faces showing the exhaustion of a day's work and the eagerness to go home.

Liu Jianguo didn't wait for Li Bing and the others, and merged into the noisy crowd alone. The afterglow of the setting sun gilded the factory area with a layer of gold. He enjoyed this moment of solitude, but his mind was still calculating Ding Qiunan's transfer and the next step of the plan.

As soon as I reached the gate of the courtyard house, I saw Uncle Yan Bugui, the third uncle, bending over and carefully watering his few half-dead potted plants.

Liu Jianguo casually greeted her, "Teacher Yan, you're such a diligent person. Even after get off work, you still take care of these flowers and plants."

Yan Bugui looked up and saw Liu Jianguo. His eyes behind his glasses lit up immediately, as if he had spotted a rare intelligence exchange partner. He quickly took a few steps closer, lowered his voice, and spoke with a hint of showing off:

"Oh my! Director Liu! You're finally back from your business trip! You've been gone for quite a while! You don't know, do you? Something big has happened in our institute! Jia Dongxu from the Intermediate Court is getting married!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jianguo indeed became interested, raising an eyebrow:

"Oh? The pretty girl we saw the matchmaker bring in last time?"

This has nothing to do with profit; it's simply that the Chinese people's innate love of watching excitement and listening to gossip has been awakened.

Seeing Liu Jianguo's interest, Yan Bugui became even more animated, his tone tinged with schadenfreude:

"That's right! It's Zhao Xiaohong from the No. 3 State-Owned Cotton Mill! You haven't seen it, the Jia family has been quite a spectacle these past two months!"

He described it vividly:

"When Jia Zhangshi was trying to get the girl into the family, she made all sorts of promises, guaranteeing she'd have everything she needed: a sewing machine, a watch, a radio, and a telephone. But what happened? The moment the new bride entered the house, she bought her a sewing machine! She said the rest would be bought later when Dongxu saved up some money. But Zhao Xiaohong was a legitimate factory worker in a state-owned enterprise; how could she be fooled like that? She immediately objected and had a huge fight with Jia Zhangshi!"

Liu Jianguo found this amusing and asked with a smile, "What about Jia Dongxu? Didn't he try to mediate?"

Yan Bugui curled his lip: "Mediation? He wants to be a peacemaker! But he ends up pleasing neither side. If he speaks up for his wife, his mother scolds him for forgetting his mother after marrying. If he speaks up for his mother, his wife accuses him of being a coward! He's caught in the middle! Now the whole courtyard is waiting to see his family make a fool of themselves!"

Liu Jianguo chuckled inwardly. This Jia Zhangshi thought she could control Zhao Xiaohong, who had a formal job and a powerful family backing her up? She had really miscalculated. This was not the Qin Huairu from the original story, who was helpless and at her mercy.

Just as Liu Jianguo was about to make another joke, he caught a glimpse of Jia Dongxu with his head drooping and He Yuzhu following behind Yi Zhonghai, who had a serious expression, as they walked out of the alley.

He immediately fell silent, gave Yan Bugui a meaningful nod, and then stepped into the courtyard.

Yan Bugui, feeling guilty, quickly picked up his precious potted plant and dashed back into his house, afraid of being caught by the person involved.

As I entered the courtyard, I saw He Yushui washing vegetables in front of her house. Her face was rounder than before and had some color in it.

Liu Jianguo greeted him with a smile, "Yushui, how have you been lately? Eating well, right? No one's bullying you in the yard, is it?"

He Yushui's eyes lit up when she saw him. She put down her shopping basket and ran over. After spending so much time together, she had become much bolder, chirping like a little bird: "Brother Jianguo! You're back! You must be exhausted after such a long business trip, right? Go back and rest!"

The young girl rattled off a long string of words, full of concern. Liu Jianguo felt a warmth in his heart and smiled, "I'm alright, not tired. I'm relieved to see you look much better."