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

But in the propaganda department office, the scene was completely different.

Li Shuo had already brazenly moved his desk to a spot by the window—he'd liked it the moment he walked in; the sunlight was great, and the view was expansive. Two young female colleagues came over, one carrying hot water, the other wiping his desk spotless, their attentiveness a stark contrast to their earlier demeanor.

Li Shuo leaned back in his chair, his eyes slightly narrowed. Recalling the changes in the group's expressions when they heard his father was a minister—from arrogance to bewildered glances, and finally to fawning smiles—he couldn't help but feel a surge of satisfaction. Damn, isn't this better than school? Back then, his classmates didn't show any respect for his ministerial father; they'd still bully him if they wanted. Work is a different story. Look at the power this has, look at how attentive these two women are…

His only regret was that Tingting wasn't here. He wished she were.

In the corner, Lao Du and two other veteran employees exchanged a furtive glance, suppressing their laughter. Those brats who had been bullying the propaganda department for years—finally, someone had come along who could put them in their place—thank goodness!

"Li Shuo!"

A voice came from the doorway. Li Shuo looked up, and after recognizing the person, he grinned: "Second Uncle? What brings you here?"

Li Jingting strode in with a smile and patted Li Shuo on the shoulder: "I knew you were coming yesterday! You just checked in and left, I didn't even see you. I came all this way today to see you. How are you doing, getting used to it?"

"Hey, what's so hard to get used to?" Li Shuo stood up, his face genuinely smug. "It's way more interesting than going to school."

"Hey kid. If you need anything at the farm, just come find me. And your Uncle Jingtang—he's the captain of the maintenance team now, and I'm just a squad leader in logistics. Don't be shy," Li Jingting said with a smile.

"Don't worry, I won't hold back."

"By the way, where do you live? Home or in the dormitory?"

"My mom wants me to go back home and have our family car pick me up and drop me off, but I applied for a dormitory." Li Shuo made a bitter face. "At home, my dad treats me like dirt. Now that I can finally live on my own, I definitely want to stay here."

Li Jingtang laughed heartily: "Alright! If you want to stay in the dormitory, stay in the dormitory; if you don't want to stay, come to our house. Anyway, the dormitory and the residential area are together. By the way, don't eat in the cafeteria for lunch, come to our house! I've already arranged for your Uncle Jingtang to come back for lunch, so we can all get together."

"Okay!"

After seeing his second uncle off, Li Shuo stood by the window for a while, feeling restless inside. He wanted to wander around and see what this huge farm was really like.

"Come on," he waved to his two female colleagues, "take me out for a walk."

Two female colleagues immediately stood up; one grabbed his coat, and the other went to open the door. Reaching the door, Li Shuo suddenly paused, as if remembering something. He turned back to look at the corner of the office, his gaze landing on the middle-aged man wearing glasses.

"Hey—" He gestured with his chin, "Your name is Lao Du, right?"

Old Du looked up at the sound, and before he could react, something flew through the air. He quickly reached out to block it, and the thing hit the edge of his palm, bounced off, and landed on the table with a crisp "clink"—it was a bunch of keys, which spun twice on the table before stopping.

"This is my dorm key." Li Shuo leaned against the doorframe, his tone casual. "Take those two with you and clean my dorm room. Make sure it's spotless. If you need anything, just go to the logistics department and ask my uncle for it. Oh, and it has to be done by the afternoon. I might have to stay there tonight."

After saying that, he turned and walked away without looking back, his leather shoes clicking on the concrete floor of the corridor, gradually fading into the distance.

The office fell silent.

Old Du stared down at the bunch of keys on the table, his face alternating between pale and flushed. His chest heaved, as if a rabbit were pounding inside. Why? Everyone was doing revolutionary work, so why should he be treated like a servant just because of his good family background? Was this still the new China? Was this still the new society?

The anger was stuck in his chest, growing stronger and stronger until finally—with a "bang," Old Du slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly.

Two of his older colleagues' eyes lit up: Was Old Du going to stand up for himself this time? Was he going to go and complain to the boss?

"Let's go!" Old Du shouted angrily and strode towards the door. The two quickly got up and followed.

When they reached the door, Old Du first peeked around and looked left and right, then turned back and waved at them, his voice still loud: "Come on—go to the logistics department and get the mops and brooms!"

The two men behind him paused, exchanged glances, and then followed with helpless expressions. They cursed inwardly: "That old Du, still the same as before."

Don't they realize that if Lao Du really had that kind of tough temper, could he have tolerated those people for so many years? They themselves are the same; they've had people squatting on their heads to defecate and urinate all these years without uttering a single complaint. And they're still hoping someone else will stand up for them?

Meanwhile, in front of the administrative building square of the farm's main plant.

Li Shuo stood by the roadside, gazing absently at the endless green fields of crops in the distance. Beside him, the farm manager personally accompanied him, pointing ahead: "Comrade Li, look, that's our main factory's planting area over there—beans, corn, all field crops. Over there, that's the cattle and pigsty area. This is the main factory; we have several branch factories under it..."

Behind the factory manager followed four or five farm managers, each one cautiously smiling obsequiously. Li Shuo's two female colleagues had long been squeezed to the back, not even given a chance to speak.

The group then moved to the livestock area, where fat pigs were lazily rooting around in their pens, and several black and white dairy cows were swishing their tails in the cowshed. The air was filled with the distinctive smells of hay and livestock. The factory manager, smiling, invited from behind, "Comrade Li, since we'll be having lunch in the canteen, why don't you try some of the beef and pork produced on our farm and see what you think of the quality?"

The other officials behind him quickly echoed his sentiments, speaking in a warm tone as if they were receiving a superior.

"Oh dear, what bad luck." Li Shuo turned around, his face full of genuine regret. "My second uncle already invited me to his house for lunch, and it was all arranged. It was really hard to refuse."

"That's alright, that's alright!" The factory manager immediately waved his hand. "Relatives are more important, of course! How about we reschedule for tomorrow? We'll make special arrangements for tomorrow..."

"That's too much trouble." Li Shuo thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "How about this—you have someone get me some pork and beef, and I'll take it to my uncle's house. That way I can still enjoy the quality from our farm!"

Li Shuo didn't have time to care about what others thought. He just felt that going to work was great, and the people here were so nice to talk to. He loved it here.