Seeing Liang Yukui push open the door and enter, the people in the room immediately stood up to greet him.
After all, among them, Liang Yukui was the eldest and the most accomplished.
Therefore, no matter what, everyone should show him the respect he deserved.
No sooner had he sat down than Liang Yukui fixed his gaze on Wang Anguo and said, “Why the sudden move to the city? That’s a real melting pot!”
Wang Anguo smiled and said, “I want to give it a try. The ceiling here in the county is so low—I can see right to the end of the road. It’s no fun!”
“That may be so, but you must know that Master’s connections with Anmin don’t extend to the city. Once you’re there, you’ll have to rely on yourself!” Liang Yukui said.
“Yeah, I know, but I still want to give it a shot!” Wang Anguo said.
“Ah, you’re still too young!” Liang Yukui said helplessly.
However, Li Yi smiled and said, “Brother Liang, while it takes courage to step out of your comfort zone, it’s only by venturing out that you’ll achieve breakthroughs and improve!”
Liang Yukui knew Li Yi’s capabilities and immediately asked, “Brother Li Yi, do you also think my friend should give it a shot?”
Li Yi nodded and said, “If you go out there, you might end up with a black eye, but if you don’t, you might just waste your whole life away!”
Wang Anguo replied immediately, “In that case, I’d better go out and see the world!”
Liang Yukui sighed and said, “That’s a good idea. I’ve been friends with Director Qi from the Municipal Party Committee Office for a long time. If you need anything, you can go to him for help!”
“Alright, I’ll go see him if I need to!” Wang Anguo said.
After chatting for a while, Liang Yukui suddenly brought up Yang Wenguang, Wang’s brother-in-law.
“Brother Li Yi, how well do you know your eldest sister’s husband?”
“Brother Liang, what’s up?” Li Yi asked immediately.
“Your brother-in-law’s background is quite extraordinary!”
“In what way is he special?”
“After your brother-in-law was hired, we followed procedure to transfer his personnel file to the factory. But when we went to the archives bureau to retrieve it, we were told that his file wasn’t held at the county level—it was at the provincial level.”
Liang Yukui continued, “We didn’t think much of it at the time—after all, some discharged soldiers’ files are indeed kept at the Provincial Armed Forces Department for various reasons. But when our factory called them to request the transfer of your brother-in-law’s file, they replied that Comrade Yang Wenguang’s file is classified, and we have no authority to access it!”
Hearing this, Li Yi was a bit taken aback.
To be honest, he didn’t really know much about his eldest sister’s husband.
After all, his older sister hadn’t visited her parents’ home much in the three years since she married him, and then a major upheaval struck the Li family.
By the time he returned again, his eldest sister and her husband had already passed away.
So, his knowledge of his eldest sister’s husband was limited to the short time they’d spent together recently.
“Brother Liang, my older sister’s husband… won’t this affect his job at the sugar factory?” Li Yi asked.
“It’s not that bad. Although the provincial authorities said we had no authority to access Comrade Yang Wenguang’s personnel file, they did provide a brief overview of his background, describing him as a fine comrade and expressing their gratitude to our sugar factory for hiring such a hero!” Liang Yukuai replied.
“That’s good!”
Liang Yukui continued, “I had a special chat with your brother-in-law a couple of days ago and found him to be quite thoughtful. Our sugar factory’s transportation department has had several accidents in a row recently, and two people even died!”
“So, I removed the head of the transportation department and reorganized the leadership team. Your older sister’s husband is now a squad leader in the transportation department!”
“Brother Liang, no need for thanks. If you ever need a hand, just let me know!” Li Yi said.
He knew full well that his sister’s husband had stood out among so many employees not only because of his own abilities but also largely because Liang Yukui was giving him the benefit of the doubt.
As the saying goes, if the boss says you’re capable, you’re capable—even if you’re not; if the boss says you’re not capable, you’re not—even if you are!
This saying might seem full of “sarcasm,” but upon closer reflection, it makes a lot of sense.
Especially in a state-owned enterprise like the sugar factory, where the atmosphere is thick with bureaucracy.
Ability is secondary; connections and networks are what really matter.
Take my brother-in-law’s situation, for example. Without the connection between me and Liang Yukuai, he wouldn’t have even been able to step foot inside the sugar factory, let alone become a team leader.
If you can’t even get on stage, how could you possibly have a chance to show your talents!
“Hahaha, no problem at all!”
Just then, An Hong returned carrying some meat and a few bottles of liquor.
Upon seeing Liang Yukui, she greeted him briefly before heading into the kitchen to get to work.
Li Yi hadn’t expected An Hong to be such a quick cook; in less than half an hour, she’d whipped up several appetizers to go with the drinks: cold-dressed pig’s ears, candied persimmons, sliced cucumber, and hand-shredded smoked chicken.
On top of that, An Hong had a pot of braised spare ribs simmering on the stove and a pot of steamed rice ready!
Compared to this era of relative scarcity, a table full of food like this was quite a luxury.
Fortunately, everyone present today was well-off, so they didn’t find it particularly remarkable.
Once the dishes were served, Wang Anguo immediately opened a bottle of locally produced Sebei Laojiu and poured everyone a glass.
Li Yi hadn’t intended to drink, but he couldn’t resist the urging of Wang Anguo and Li Gang. With the mood already set, he had no choice but to raise his glass!
After several rounds of drinks and a variety of dishes, An Hong’s braised spare ribs were finally ready.
The group then ate meat and drank wine as the mood gradually grew more lively, and then…
That was it!
When Li Yi woke up, his surroundings felt unfamiliar!
A strange room, a strange bed, strange furnishings!
He shook his dazed head and sat up, bracing himself against the edge of the bed.
When his gaze settled on the wall clock, he saw that the hour hand was pointing to six and the minute hand to four—it was already 6:20 p.m.
He remembered that it hadn’t even been noon when they’d been eating, yet here he was, six hours later.
Taking a deep breath, he immediately walked out of the room and found himself in Wang An’s living room—the place he’d just been sleeping in was actually the small bedroom at the back of Wang An’s house.
The mess of cups and plates in the living room had been cleared away, but Li Gang was still sprawled on the sofa, snoring loudly.
Wang Anguo and Liang Yukui were both gone; he had no idea where they’d gone.
Although Li Yi was a bit anxious, he didn’t leave right away; he decided to at least say hello to someone before leaving.
Besides, his throat was a bit dry. Spotting the freshly brewed tea on the coffee table, he walked over, picked up the cup, and poured himself a large glass of the cold tea.
After downing the cup of tea, the burning sensation in his throat finally subsided.
Just as Li Yi was about to pour himself another cup, a sudden clatter of footsteps came from outside, accompanied by the sound of voices.
Li Yi immediately looked out the window and saw Wang Anguo and An Hong walking in from outside!