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

On the third floor of the guesthouse, the doors and windows of the director's office were tightly closed, but they couldn't shut out the slightly humid air of the early autumn morning. Li Jing'an was flipping through this month's purchase order when the old-fashioned telephone on the table suddenly rang loudly, breaking the silence in the room.

He reached out and answered the receiver. The voice of Director Liu from the First Food Factory, thick with accent and unusually warm, came through the receiver: "Director Li! It's me, Old Liu! Ah, we had a good time last night, and things got a bit too casual. I'm a straightforward person, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized I couldn't just keep it to myself. So, I had our driver, Xiao Chen, deliver some mooncakes made by our factory to you this morning! It's just… I don't know exactly where you live, so I had the driver go directly to the steel rolling mill. I reckon they should be here by now?"

Li Jing'an's brow twitched almost imperceptibly, but a smile immediately spread across his face, his voice filled with just the right amount of surprise and politeness: "Oh, my dear Director Liu! You...you're being too polite! I just said it casually at the dinner table yesterday, just to warm things up, how could you take it so seriously! I feel so bad that you had to remember it and send a car over." His tone was earnest, as if he were genuinely deeply troubled by this.

On the other end of the phone, Director Liu laughed heartily a few more times, saying things like "It's just a small token," "It's nothing," and "Don't be shy." The two exchanged pleasantries for a few rounds, like masters sparring, understanding each other implicitly but putting on a perfect show of politeness, before finally hanging up.

The receiver was placed back on the landline with a soft "click." Li Jing'an's smile slowly faded, and his fingers tapped lightly twice on the smooth tabletop.

This Factory Director Liu is sensible and quick to act. He's a friend I can make deeply trust.

Before he could think it through, the phone rang urgently again. He answered, and it was Old Zhang, the gatekeeper: "Chief Li, a jeep has arrived at the gate. They say they're from the First Food Factory and want to see you. What do you think…?"

"Okay, I understand. Let them in. Take them directly to the guesthouse," Li Jing'an instructed calmly.

A short while later, slightly hurried footsteps came from the corridor outside the door, followed by a soft knock on the door. "Come in." Li Jing'an sat up straight.

The door was pushed open, and Wang Caixia, a waitress at the guesthouse, poked half her body in, a professional smile on her face, but with a hint of curiosity in her eyes: "Director Li, someone is looking for you."

She stepped aside, and behind her stood a man in his early thirties, wearing blue overalls, carrying a heavy, light yellow cardboard box, looking somewhat reserved at the doorway.

"Hello, Director Li!" the man said quickly, his voice full of energy. "I am Chen Jianshe from the driver team of the First Food Factory. Our factory director, Liu, asked me to bring you some mooncakes produced by the factory. Please try them and give me your feedback!" He spoke fluently, clearly having been instructed beforehand.

Li Jing'an's face had already put on a warm smile. He stood up from behind his large desk, walked around the corner of the desk, and waved to Wang Caixia, saying, "Okay, Caixia, you can go ahead and get busy." Wang Caixia understood, quickly glanced at the cardboard box, closed the door, and left.

"You've worked hard, Comrade Chen, coming all this way." Li Jing'an walked up to the driver, but instead of taking the box first, he took out a pack of red-packaged Peony cigarettes from his jacket pocket, skillfully flicked one out and handed it to him, "Here, have a smoke and take a break."

Driver Chen Jianshe quickly and carefully placed the box at his feet, took the cigarette with both hands, and thanked him repeatedly, but didn't dare to light it immediately, instead tucking it behind his ear. "Director Li, you're too kind. The goods have been delivered, and I've completed the task assigned by Factory Director Liu."

He rubbed his hands together, looking somewhat flustered, and glanced unconsciously at the doorway, as if ready to leave at any moment. "I won't bother you any longer; the factory might need the vehicle."

Li Jing'an didn't insist on keeping him, and instead gestured for him to sit down, saying, "Have some water before you go," but he didn't actually go to pour any water. This seemingly warm invitation was more like a perfunctory polite gesture.

Chen Jianshe was indeed sensible and quickly waved his hand, "No, no, I really won't sit down, Director Li, you're busy!" As he spoke, he turned to leave.

"Hey, look at you, you're already here, it's almost lunchtime..." Li Jing'an pretended to try and persuade him to stay a couple more times, but seeing that the other person was determined to leave, he smiled and patted the driver's arm, "Alright, go back and thank Director Liu for me, tell him I appreciate his kindness, and we'll get together again another time! Drive carefully!"

"Alright! I'll definitely deliver it! Director Li, please wait!" Chen Jianshe felt as if he had been granted a pardon, bowing and scraping as he left the office, gently closing the door behind him.

The door closed, and the office returned to silence. Li Jing'an's smile faded. He walked to the large cardboard box, squatted down, and examined it closely. The box was sealed tightly. He found some scissors, cut the tape, and opened the lid.

The first thing that caught Li Jing'an's eye was a neatly stacked array of twenty small, square, bulging oil-paper packets, emitting a faint, enticing sweet aroma and the unique scent of baked flour. Li Jing'an picked up a packet; it felt soft and fluffy. He opened it—it was bread! A golden-yellow surface, a fine texture. In those days when resources were scarce, this was an absolute rarity, even harder to obtain than mooncakes. It seemed Factory Director Liu had put thought and effort into this gift.

Li Jing'an's eyes lit up. He carefully rewrapped the oil paper package and set it aside. He peeled back the top layer of bread, revealing flat, rectangular paper boxes printed with simple red patterns—traditional "Zilaihong" mooncakes. He picked up a box, weighed it in his hand, and opened it to look inside. Each box contained six mooncakes, plump and oily. He roughly counted about thirty such boxes.

Li Jing'an straightened up, walked to the window, lit a Peony cigarette, and took a deep drag. As the smoke curled upwards, his gaze fell upon the towering chimneys and gray factory outlines of the steel rolling mill not far away.

He quickly started calculating in his mind: bread is a good thing, he'll keep it for himself, and occasionally have it for breakfast or let his nephews and nieces try it... A slight, almost imperceptible curve appeared at the corner of his mouth. As for the mooncakes, they are both a favor and a "resource," so how to distribute them is quite particular.

The factory's Party Committee Secretary, the top leader, absolutely needs two boxes—it shows respect. Factory Director Yang, in charge of production and a powerful figure, also needs two boxes.

Personnel Section Chief Zhang, Finance Section Chief Chen, Security Section Chief Gou, and Motorcade Captain Shen—these are people I get along well with on a regular basis, or people I can rely on in key positions. I gave each of them a box to maintain our relationships.

There's also Li Huaide, the logistics director, who's close to me and has helped me a lot in private. I should give him one or two boxes to show how close we are.

As for the others… Li Jing'an flicked his cigarette ash. Mooncakes were limited; it was impossible for everyone to receive one. Sometimes, not receiving one was more intriguing than receiving one.

Having made up his mind, he returned to the box and deftly took out all twenty oil paper packages of bread, hiding them in the cabinet under his desk.

Then, he took out ten more boxes of mooncakes and placed them on the table. There were still twenty neatly arranged boxes left in the box. He put the ten boxes he had taken out into the cabinet, carried the heavy box, locked the office door, and went downstairs.

On the first floor of the guesthouse, Wang Caixia was wiping the front desk with a rag when she saw him carrying a suitcase downstairs and gave him an inquiring look. Li Jing'an simply nodded slightly at her and didn't say anything more.

He secured the suitcase to the back of his bicycle, held the handlebars with one hand and the suitcase with the other, and pushed the bike toward the rather imposing factory office building not far away. Sunlight shone on his meticulously tailored Zhongshan suit, his steps were steady, and his silhouette carried a composed air, the unique demeanor of a "capable person."